


Plus One

by jaws_3



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: College/University Age, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, bed sharing, fake dating au, group chats, sometimes ur life is a romcom and u just gotta deal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-09-01 22:23:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 43,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20265463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaws_3/pseuds/jaws_3
Summary: Seifer needs a date and Hayner owes him a favour. There’s no way this is going to end badly.





	1. Table for Two?

**Author's Note:**

> have any of u been like, u kno what seiner needs????? a 45k fake dating au. no??? just me????? well. y'all getting one anyways.  
Enjoy!

“Go out with me.” 

Hayner’s in the middle of chomping down on his second sea-salt ice cream of the day when this very unexpected request comes. Tucked under one of the balconies that litter their small town, not far from the old Tramyard that had been recently converted into a makeshift movie theatre. He’s on his own - taking a short break from his part time job while his friends continued to toil away at theirs - and had been catching up on his Instagram when a shadow darkens his phone and a familiar voice cuts through his brain’s idle chatter with itself. 

Blinking slowly, Hayner lifts his head up to stare owlishly at the requester: Seifer Almasy. 

He’s squinting against the sun, arms crossed, and, most surprisingly, sans his trademark beanie. Hayner briefly wonders if Seifer’s hair had always been so blond, or if the eternal golden hue that lights their town is highlighting it to be extra shiny. It’s distracting, and Hayner’s brain is still waking up, so he takes his time in replying. 

“What?” He finally asks after thirty solid seconds of silence. Seifer gives an annoyed huff, shifting his weight to one side as he un-crosses his arms to lean onto his right hip. 

“I said,” he huffs, obviously irritated, “Go out with me.” 

The silence returns, the repetition of the request not at all aiding Hayner in fully understanding it. He turns it over slowly in his head before deciding, nope, still doesn’t make any sense, and jerks into a proper sitting position, his ice cream falling closer to the ground. 

“ _ What? _ ” Hayner repeats, incredulous. It’s been nearly half a year since Hayner saw Seifer last, man generally only found meandering around town during the summer holidays. Seifer and the rest of his gang had chosen to go to some outside Academy several years back, rather than continue their schooling by going to the local University like everyone else. Hayner included. To say such a request comes out of nowhere is putting it lightly. “You want me to go out with you?” 

“Yes.” Seifer confirms, completely unfazed.

(Because, apparently, asking out your age old rival isn’t weird at  _ all _ in Seifer World.) 

“Why?” Hayner’s not an expert on the dating world, but even he knows that people generally have some sort of  _ romantic _ feelings for the people they ask out and, despite the many rumours that circulated during high school, Hayner and Seifer had never shared any sort of feelings for each other besides irritation and begrudging respect. 

He’s not expecting any declaration of love, Hayner’s not  _ stupid _ , and he’s rewarded with an annoyed sigh and Seifer re-crossing his arms, the look of a man preparing for a long winded battle. 

“A bunch of my supervisors have been pestering me to get a girlfriend and it’s irritating as hell.” Hayner makes a sympathetic face. He can relate. His parents are starting to get on him for the same thing. “There’s a girl in my group they keep trying to pair me off with but I don’t have any interest in her. Not that that matters to them…”

Seifer mumbles the last bit, low and frustrated. For his part, Hayner can’t imagine anyone thinking Seifer would be a decent partner. Crude, brash, arrogant, mean… the list goes on, really. 

“So?” Hayner prompts, returning to his earlier task of eating his ice cream. Work would be looking for him soon, so he needs to wrap this all up as soon as possible. After a quick glare, Seifer indulges him. 

“So, I told them I already had someone. To get them off my back.” 

A classic move, Hayner nods his approval. 

“Trouble is, I don’t actually have anyone.” Hayner’s not terribly surprised. While Seifer had fans back in the day, he never really dated. Hayner had mused over this a few times in the years past, but never for long, usually becoming distracted by something else. “So that’s where you come in.” 

“You want me to be your fake boyfriend?” Hayner asks, looking to clarify everything, raising a brow as he nibbles at the bottom of his ice cream. 

Before Seifer can reply, the tram dings, startling them both, and indicates to the standing man to get off the road so it can continue with its never-ending loop. Hayner instinctively straightens up when Seifer gives a low grunt and steps in closer towards him, giving the tram the room it needs. 

They both watch it pass, and Hayner’s eyes can only briefly meet Seifer’s when he realizes the man isn’t going to step back. To get himself back on track, Hayner repeats his question, and is hit with a spike of curiosity when he watches Seifer visibly deflate. 

“Got it in one, Chickenwuss.” He sighs, looking worn out. Hayner’s almost sympathetic, he can’t imagine how bad the hounding must be for Seifer to turn to someone like  _ him _ , but at the same time, he isn’t entirely sure he wants to find out. Especially if it means acting as his childhood rival’s  _ boyfriend. _

“Okay… But why me exactly? We’re not exactly the lovey-dovey type.” An understatement to say the least. “Couldn’t you have picked Rai or Fuu or like… anyone else?” 

“They already know I’m just friends with Rai and Fuu. And… I need someone I know won’t fall in love with me.” Seifer explains with a weak shrug, one of his fingers tapping incessantly. Hayner’s eyes narrow. Something feels off about the explanation, but he can’t place it, and he’s not interested enough to parse it.

“Well, you got that right.” Hayner huffs as he stands, patting away imaginary dirt from his pants. He knows work has to be looking for him at this point and he’s not really in the mood for any more lectures by his supervisor. 

“Perfect, you down?” Seifer asks, his body finally seeming to relax. His telltale smirk even giving hints at a possible appearance. Hayner immediately throws his arms up in an “X” shape in front of him. 

“Hell no! Why would I ever date you, fake or not?” 

“You owe me, Chickenwuss!” There’s suddenly a significant difference in the space separating Hayner from Seifer, as the latter steps in close and yanks on Hayner’s collar. “I seem to recall you promising to, ‘Pay me back,’ after I helped you and your other lamers out not too long ago.” 

A few of the townsfolk wandering by give them a wary look, but it’s more of exasperation than anything else. The brawls that made them infamous had died down after high school - due in part to Seifer straight up  _ leaving town _ \- and Hayner’s sure the concern present on their faces has more to do with the planters surrounding them than the boys themselves. 

(Hayner once smashed eleven planters in a single brawl with Seifer. A record he never ever beat.) 

“Yeah, well, I mean.. Yeah!” Hayner struggles in the older man’s grasp, trying in vain to detach his shirt from the other’s fist. He does remember said promise, coming in the moments of jubilation after Seifer aided them in fighting off some random group of punks that had decided to challenge them for their usual spot, but he had only made that thinking Seifer would ask for a similar favour. Not.. this! “But! Dating? Man, you gotta know it’s gonna end badly! All we do is fight!” 

“I think we’ve matured enough we can spend a few days together without murdering one another.” Seifer replies evenly and Hayner can’t believe the faith he has in them. 

“Seifer, we can’t even talk for five minutes without arguing.” Hayner huffs before giving up on escaping and stilling in Seifer’s grasp. “I don’t see you for six months and look! You’re already at my throat.” 

Seifer at least has the decency to look slightly ashamed, but this doesn’t stop him from giving Hayner a light shove when he does let him go. 

“We wouldn’t have this problem if you just listened to me.” He grouses and Hayner rolls his eyes.

“What? You want me to submit to you?” An odd flush climbs Seifer’s neck that’s covered by him coughing and covering his face in what seems to be irritation. Hayner ignores this and continues on, “That’s not gonna happen. Ask another favour! I dunno... let me help you fight your supervisors to get them off your back! That’d be fun!”

This gets a small chuckle out of Seifer but he still shakes his head at it, “Besides this, I really do like them. And it’s a good job I’m not about to risk losing. ”

Unfortunate, Hayner thinks, making a disappointed face.

“Listen,” Seifer starts, almost sounding defeated, “I just need you for a four day business getaway. It’s an all expense paid trip to one of the top hotels in Radiant Garden. At the very least, you get some free drinks, all you can eat food, and the chance to act like you’re some rich prick. I have some work I’ll need to get done anyways so we won’t even be together all the time.”

Hayner perks up  _ immediately. _ The hotels and resorts in Radiant Garden were world class and the envy of  _ everyone _ . During midterm season, Hayner often found himself scrolling through the offered amenities of some of the more expensive ones and imagining he was  _ there _ instead of holed up in the apartment he shared with Roxas pretending he knew what half the terms in his notes meant.

In truth, this is probably the only chance he’ll ever have to see the inside in person. 

“See, why didn’t you start with that. ‘Hey, Hayner. Wanna help me con my bosses and get some free food out of it?’ We could’ve avoided a lot of trouble.” 

“Figured you missed me enough to agree faster.”

Hayner laughs, loud and unabashed, and doesn’t make any move to deny it. He had missed him, after all. 

"All right, all right. I’ll do it. Is your number the same still? I’ll text you when I’m done work so we can talk about it more. I’m already like, five minutes past my break.” 

Seifer rattles off the last four digits of his number while Hayner quickly double checks the contact he’s had it since high school. They had been forced into a couple group school projects together and they had never really  _ hated _ each other in high school… they had just never mastered the art of being close to each other for an extended period of time.

After confirmations, he shoots his now boyfriend ( _ weird _ ) a smile and a wave, “I’ll text you later! I really got to get back to work.”

At this point they were going to cancel his break next shift and Hayner really doesn’t need that to happen.

“I’ll walk you back.” Seifer replies, returning his smile and waving him forward as he starts off in the direction of Hayner’s latest part time job. (He’s too restless to find any joy in staying in one place, but thankfully Twilight Town allows for that, everyone knowing Hayner to be a hard worker, just a bit… nomadic.) 

“Am I allowed to tell my group?” Hayner asks after a couple steps. He would regardless of Seifer’s answer, but thinks it kind to at least pretend to give Seifer some sort of say. However, Seifer’s on the same wavelength as him and just smirks. 

“Would you hide it from them if I asked you too?” 

“No.” Hayner responds immediately, blunt as ever. Seifer rolls his eyes. 

“Well, there you go.” 

“Why didn’t you ask Roxas or something?” Surely another excellent candidate in the “Definitely-Would-Not-Fall-In-Love-With-Seifer” category. 

“You know Chickenwuss and I don’t get along.” 

“And we do?”

“Better than anyone else in your group.” 

“Aww, does this mean you like me the most?” Hayner teases with a bright grin. Seifer just looks at him, but doesn’t respond, leaving Hayner feeling oddly flustered. He quickly moves to cover it up with a joke. “What a softie you are! Softie Seifer! Seitea-urk!”

Hayer lurches forward, Seifer having placed a hard whack on his back. 

“You’re  _ here _ .” Seifer says, almost sweetly, before swaggering off with a flippant wave. “Don’t forget to text me.” 

“You’re  _ late _ .” Hayner’s boss’ heavily accented voice rings through before Hayner can make any sort of retort. “You better have a good reason!”

“Sorry!” Hayner says hastily, and then, awkward and shy, “My… boyfriend kept me.” 

The feeling that blossoms from this confession sits oddly in Hayner’s stomach, unsettled but warm, leaving Hayner feeling dizzy. 

His boss is sympathetic, but only momentarily. 

“Aww, young love, isn’t that sweet. You’re staying an extra ten minutes after your shift.”

Hayner supposes he can’t argue with that. 

* * *

The twilight sun is warm and comforting when Hayner steps into it after work. He ends up being let off early, the evening being too calm to keep extra hands, and gifted with some tester pastries from the chef. 

“Be sure to save some for your sweetheart!” Had been the instructions left to him by his boss and Hayner can still feel the heat sparking across his cheeks from reading the word  _ sweetheart _ and connecting it to Seifer. He doubts the older man has anything resembling a sweet tooth and besides, Hayner already promised Olette to bring back any food he got from the bistro. 

Pulling out his phone, Hayner shoots Seifer a quick text of  _ done w work _ before pocketing it again and making his way to the Usual Spot. It buzzes almost immediately. 

_ Going into a meeting. I’ll text after. _

Hayner rolls his eyes, muttering under his breath before shoving his phone away again and marching forward with renewed purpose.

See if Hayner would try and save him any of the dessert  _ now _ . 

* * *

“I’m going out with Seifer.” Hayner says as he settles into his spot on the couch, having portioned out the piece of tart he had been gifted with. Deciding to mimic Seifer’s route of giving absolutely no context, Hayner happily waits to see his friend’s reactions.

He’s quickly rewarded. 

Pence gapes at him like a fish out of water, Olette very nearly drops her section of the dessert, and Roxas just stands there, like a deer in headlights, before very slowing nodding his head and sitting down. After a brief moment of stunned silence, Pence’s voice comes tumbling from his body. 

“The rumours were true!” He whispers, in absolute awe, pointing a dramatic finger at his friend. Hayner frowns.

“What rumours?”

“There were always rumours you and Seifer had a thing for each other,” Olette explains, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and going back to her piece. “I thought you knew that?” 

Hayner did. He also knew people had way too much time on their hands. 

“Well the rumours are wrong.” Roxas shoots him the most disbelieving look of  _ you dumb motherfucker _ that urges Hayner to explain as soon as possible. “Seifer’s trying to get some people at work off his back about dating, so he’s using me as a fake boyfriend.”

Another stretch of silence. Hayner shoves the giant strawberry he swiped from Pence into his mouth. This is more fun than he thought it would be. 

“Seifer… is using you… as a fake boyfriend.” Roxas repeats, slow and methodical as he tries to understand. “…  _ Why? _ ” 

“Because I’m his favourite? I dunno. All he really said was we’re going to some hotel in Radiant Garden for a few days for some business trip.”

“ _ A few days _ ?” Roxas repeats, almost stupefied. “And he’s not worried you’re gonna blow it?” 

Hayner shrugs.

“The man has faith in me.” 

“Then he’s a fool.” 

“Gotta agree with you there.” 

“Hayner…” Olette says softly, “Do you know what this means?”

Hayner gives her a blank look.

“You’re living the fake dating trope! With  _ Seifer! _ ” 

Hayner doesn’t wish the recognize the trope he’s been thrown into, so he just makes a face at her and turns back to his food. Off to the other side of them, Roxas softly whispers, “Holy shit…!” as Pence finally rejoins the conversation, his shock having worn off, “You know how those kinds of movies end, right? You’re gonna find out you were secretly in love the whole time and then we’ll actually have to deal with you dating Seifer.” 

“First of all, this is not a movie.” This is  _ reality _ , Pence, please. “Second of all, Seifer picked me specifically for the fact I would  _ not _ fall in love with him.” 

“Another classic trope…” Pence whispers to a nodding Roxas. Hayner tosses a pillow at them, managing a solid hit to Roxas’ face. 

“Have some faith in me! I only agreed ‘cause he forcibly reminded me I owe him a favour.” Hayner leans back into the couch, his earlier annoyance returning to him. To his right, Olette appears deep in thought. 

“All right!” She says suddenly, clapping her hands in front of her. “We got this!”

“We?” 

“We do?” 

“Got what?” Chorus the remaining three, each of them turning to her with vaguely curious or startled expressions. 

“This! Come on, Hayner. If this is gonna work you two are gonna need a  _ lot _ of help!” 

* * *

Hayner texts Seifer  _ come meet me at the usual spot  _ after the other informs him of being done with his meeting and within twenty minutes, Seifer is gently calling out Hayner’s name as he ducks into the small alleyway crevice. 

He’s greeted with four faces staring back at him. 

“Uh… Hello?” The bafflement on his face is absolutely hilarious. Hayner has to suppress a grin. 

“Hello, Seifer.” Olette replies sternly. “I’m glad you could join us.” 

“Sure…” He says slowly before a frown returns to his face. “Is this an intervention?” 

“No—“ Olette says immediately, waving her hand in front of her. Roxas cuts her off however, before she can bring any relief or clarity to Seifer. 

“Kind of, I guess? I mean… what the hell are you thinking?” There’s no venom in Roxas’ voice, only genuine curiosity. Both Olette and Seifer share in a sigh, though Olette joins the rest of her group in watching Seifer afterwards, all ready to hear his side of the story. 

“Didn’t lamer tell you?” 

“Okay, if you’re going to date, you can’t call him that…” Olette pipes in with a frown.

“Also he didn’t explain it very well and we want to hear it from you anyways so, the stage is all yours, Almasy!” Pence chirps right after. 

Seifer heaves another heavy sigh and Hayner has to wonder if he wasn’t expecting it to take this long for him to regret ever thinking of this plan.

“My bosses want me to get a girlfriend. I don’t want one. To get them to leave me alone, I told them I’m seeing someone. I’m using Hayner as that someone.” He’s a lot more direct this time round, hopefully having learned his lesson from earlier. It’s actually starting to make sense, even if Hayner still doesn’t understand why he needs  _ him _ . Although, the thought of all the food and drinks he going to get soothe any annoyance he feels. 

“The business trip?” Olette prompts while Roxas mumbles, “But  _ why  _ Hayner…?” 

“We’re doing a four day trip to a hotel. They’re making it all inclusive for us and we’re allowed to bring our partners. My bosses were  _ really _ insistent that I bring mine. Hence, Hayner.” 

There’s several seconds of silence after this, broken only by the distant clack of the train moving serenely through the town.

“I still don’t get it.” Roxas admits, turning to Pence. Pence shrugs back at him. Seifer just groans. 

“It’s not as complicated as you’re making it out to be.” He grumbles, and Hayner can see the agitation starting to build on his face. He’s not in the mood for them to start fighting again so he pipes in.

“Don’t worry about it, Seifer, Roxas will get over it eventually.” Roxas briefly looks like he’s going to argue, but he ends up nodding an agreement and Olette moves the meeting forward. 

“So, Seifer! Take a seat. If you two are going to date, there are some things we need to work out.” Seifer eyes the folder that Olette brings out, almost from nowhere, suspiciously and a grin starts to grow in earnest on Hayner’s face. This is going to be  _ fun _ . 

“Like what?” Seifer asks and Olette actually rolls her eyes at him. 

“Like, a lot of things! Who asked who out? When did you start dating? When did you realize your feelings? What do you call each other? What kind of PDA are you going to do? How do you handle being in a long distance relationship? Do you even  _ know _ when Hayner’s birthday is?” 

The only one to be overly surprised at Olette’s preparedness is Seifer. A lucky man who never paired with her for any school assignment. Hayner peeks over at the folder she had pulled out earlier and notices it actually has a list of all these questions, and more, with space beside them for the answer. A fill in the blank questionnaire. Classic.

“We started dating four months ago and I asked him out.” Seifer tells her, annoyed. 

“Well,  _ we _ didn’t know that!” Olette huffs back at him while Pence purses his lips in thought and mumbles, “He answered that really fast…” 

“What about feelings? How did you two realize your feelings?” She continues, jabbing her pen in Seifer’s direction after jotting down the previous information. She only has one copy and Hayner hopes it’s his. 

“Is that really important?”

“Yes! What if someone asks? The more prepared you are, the more they’ll buy our story! Hayner! Quick! When did you realize you liked Seifer?”

Hayner stumbles over several vowels as he tries to form a proper word, not expecting to be called on so suddenly. Pence and Roxas also gain a thoughtful look, most likely planning their own answer. Hayner wonders if this is turning into a school project. 

“When he… asked me out?” Hayner offers. The reaction he gets is as cold and uninspired as his answer. 

“Oh!” Roxas shouts, oddly excited. “What if you realized it when you were in the middle of a struggle match?”

“Classic!” is Pence’s excited response and the two of them turn to each other again, plotting out the details. 

“Middle of the fight…”

“And suddenly the sunshine hit Seifer at a really nice angle!”

“And Hayner was like, ’Holy shit’ and that’s when he realized…”

“He was in love with his biggest rival!” Pence finishes and the two share a look of pride. It’s a good story, Hayner will admit, and one Hayner will definitely never admit to  _ maybe _ sort of happening just  _ once  _ when he was sixteen. 

(The sunlight hit Seifer at a  _ really _ nice angle, all right?)

“Perfect!” Olette cheers, writing it down quickly in her loopy cursive. Hayner begins to wonder if he’s lost his right to say anything. 

“But would Hayner actually tell a stranger that?” 

“Hmm..” Olette ponders. “Probably not. But he can use his dumb, “When he asked me out.” for that. As long as he has the other story on the back burner, his is much more believable.” 

“What about Seifer?” Pence asks, crossing his arms and dropping his head in his usual “thinking” posture. The other two make small humming sounds while Hayner rests his chin on his hand, leaning into his elbow. He’s never been very good at romance, so he’s happy to leave this aspect of the planning to his friends. There’s an odd sense of nostalgia to the scene, something warm and comforting, that Hayner lets himself bask in. Since starting university, they had all mostly split up due to differences in their majors, and joint school projects between them were now a thing of the past. Having something like this to join them back up is almost a blessing. 

Not that Hayner would ever tell Seifer that. 

“He probably fell in love when Hayner laughed at something stupid and was mad about it for three weeks.” Roxas says finally, throwing Hayner a grin that breaks him out of his daydreams. Hayner only manages to rolls his eyes before the other two are laughing and chiming in their agreement. 

“I love it.” Olette says, writing it down. They seem to be filling the form in fast, but then Olette flips up the page and Hayner realizes with a small amount of dread that there were many more questions to follow. 

“This is stupid, why are we doing this?” Seifer snaps, his earlier irritation rising. His still standing, arms eternally crossed. He almost seems embarrassed, but that’s not a look he wears often, so Hayner isn’t sure. Had it been anyone new to Seifer, they may have flinched back at his anger, but Hayner’s group, having experienced even higher levels of Seifer frustration, just stare back at him unbothered. Even a little annoyed. 

“We  _ told _ you, it’s to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible. You want them to believe you, don’t you?” There’s a level of command that Seifer can’t argue with in Olette’s tone, but he still demonstrates his hesitation with a muted grumble that he doesn’t bother to repeat when “sweetly” asked to. Eventually, Olette manages to wave at Seifer enough for him to sit down on a creaking, makeshift seat, and they’re back to business. 

“Alright, Seifer, do you know when Hayner’s birthday is?”

“No.” He sighs. “Sometime in March?” 

“No, that’s Pence’s.” 

“Seifer knows my birthday?”

“Hayner’s birthday in June 30th, making him a Cancer.” 

“Is that important?” There’s a small furrow to his brow and he shoots Hayner a questioning look. All Hayner can give back is his hands thrown up in a shrug. He never paid much attention to astrology. Although it’s fun to blame bouts of bad luck on made up planets.

“Yes!” Olette looks offended at Seifer’s ignorance. “Couples  _ always _ check to see if their zodiacs are compatible!”

“They do?” This time it’s Roxas who shows disbelief, mostly aided by him constantly forgetting his own zodiac, much less bothering to remember his friend’s or partner’s. 

“ _ Yes _ !” 

“I thought that was blood types…” Roxas wears a puzzled pout at this as Pence cocks his head to the side in contemplation.

“I think they do that too.”

“Do you know your blood type?” Roxas asks, turning to him. 

“Yeah! It’s—“ 

“Focus! Hayner, when’s Seifer’s birthday?” Olette demands, determined to return to the matter at hand. 

“December 22nd.” Hayner rattles off, bored and unfazed. He jerks to attention when he notices about four different sets of eyes boring into him. “What?” 

“How do you know that?” Seifer scowls. He’s wearing the “maybe embarrassed, probably just a new form of anger” expression again and Hayner privately makes it his secret mission to figure out  _ what _ exactly this stupid new facial expression of his means. 

“I’m good at dates?” He offers weakly when Seifer’s glare remains unbroken. 

There’s another stretch of silence that triggers a defensive action in Hayner, as he crosses his arms and moves to devalue the knowledge. 

“It’s not that big a deal. I know my third grade teacher’s birthday too. And my landlord’s!” 

Thankfully, his group had always been pretty good at distracting themselves, and Roxas quickly spins the conversation in a new direction. 

“December 22nd… What does that make Seifer then? Zodiac wise, I mean.”

“Uh…” Pence contemplates briefly before pulling out his phone and quickly typing. “Let’s see… A Capricorn!” 

“Are they actually a good match?”

“Let me check… Oh. Wow. Actually it says they’re almost a perfect match. ‘Their shared passions, sense of responsibility, and morality make Capricorn and Cancer’s a highly compatible relationship.’” 

Another stretch of silence. Hayner pointedly stares at anything  _ but _ the people sharing the room with him wondering if he actively refuses to accept the warmth pricking his cheeks if that’ll make the blush any less noticeable. Eventually, Roxas looks up from Pence’s phone to stare at Seifer, face almost blank.

“If you two actually start dating, does this mean you’ll stop hogging the best beach spot and share it with us?” 

“… I’ll think about it.” Seifer replies slowly. Hayner can’t make out much of his mood from his tone, and still refuses to look at him, but it almost seems like the man is just as flustered as he is. 

“Sweet!” Roxas cheers, either ignorant or disinterested in both of their discomfort, and the stilted mood is quickly washed away by idle chatter as Roxas and Pence move to investigate the duo’s full compatibility. 

Olette seems content to let them run wild with it for a bit, filling in more blanks on her sheet. She whacks Hayner after he leans too far in trying to read over her shoulder and Seifer actually gives him something akin to a sympathetic expression when Hayner turns to him looking like a kicked puppy. 

The rest of the meeting goes relatively smoothly. Olette fills in the sheet as methodically as she once did for their chemistry homework and after much prompting finally soothes Hayner’s worry by telling him she is going home to scan it and text it to the group. (“Seifer, I’ll need your number so we can make a group chat.” “ _ Why _ .” “Just give her your stupid number!”) Hayner’s not entirely sure why  _ everyone  _ needs it, but after witnessing the level five glare Olette whips at Seifer after he complains just a few words too much, he decides he doesn’t need to ask. 

There’s only one major hiccup, and that’s when the topic of PDA comes up, and that’s only because Roxas gets a smile far too mischievous to mean anything good and asks, “Are they gonna have to practice kissing?”

“Why would we  _ practice _ —“ Hayner starts, embarrassed frustration taking over his tone, but Olette saves him quite quickly, shushing him with a wave of her hand. 

“I don’t think we need to worry about that. Neither Seifer or Hayner seem the type to be too showy, especially if this is a newer relationship. As long as you two stand close together and lean into each other every once in a while, I think you’ll be fine.” 

“That’s true. You’re already pretty familiar with each other too. And, Hayner, you’re pretty affectionate with friends, so just do that. It’s not like they’ll know the difference.” Pence continues. 

“I am?” Hayner asks in soft disbelief, turning to his earlier betrayer, Roxas, who nods in confirmation. 

“Just no fighting!” Olette says suddenly, jabbing her pen in both Hayner and Seifer’s direction. “It’ll either blow your cover, or they’ll try and break the relationship off themselves, seeing it as unhealthy!” 

“But Seifer and I always fight.” Hayner whines, unwilling to let this part of their relationship go. Playful arguments with Seifer were fun, when the man didn’t finish them with a punch to the face. 

“There’s a difference between teasing and breaking each other’s noses, Hayner. Do the first one if you  _ have _ to, but if you actually start a brawl, you’re going to ruin it.” 

There’s a very strict “no nonsense” vibe coming from his friend, so Hayner doesn’t bother dredging up the energy to argue anymore. 

“You heard the boss.” Hayner says with a sigh, before realizing he could use this to his advantage and turning to look at Seifer with a grin. “That means you gotta listen to everything I say and do whatever I tell you to.” 

Hayner’s expecting a scowl or some semblance of a frown, but Seifer has apparently relaxed into their group and returns Hayner’s gaze with a sort of smile, leaning in closer from his spot across from Hayner. 

“Of course, dear.” He says, complacent and almost housewife-y.

“Really?” Hayner replies, eyes comically wide. 

“You fucking wish, Chickenwuss.” Seifer’s smile morphs back into a smirk and he takes advantage of his long reach, pushing at Hayner’s forehead and fully knocking him off balance and to the floor. 

“No insults as nicknames!” Olette shouts, but it’s lost to the loud laughter that soon echoes within the Usual Spot’s walls, Roxas and Pence unable to have any sort of pity for the squawking mass that was their best friend. 

* * *

They’re making their way to the train station, Hayner having offered to walk Seifer back after he told need he needed to return to Radiant Garden, and they’re just nearing the bottom of Station Hill when Hayner turns to Seifer to ask something that had been bothering him since he thought of it mid shift. 

“Aren’t you worried about them thinking you’re gay? Or like… finding out?” Hayner isn’t sure of Seifer’s orientation, not that it matters all that much to him. Hayner had spent most of high school believing in his own straightness and it only took two parties in university to realize his childhood lie.

(While he still thinks girls are great, he’s much happier getting his girl friends girlfriends, rather than dating them himself.)

He had admitted to it, rather blandly, in the middle of a video game night with his group and they had all returned with, “Wow, samesies.” before what Hayner had actually said had clicked in and they’d paused the game with, “Wait, what? Seriously?”

They were, of course, extremely supportive, with both Roxas and Olette later admitting to probably not being completely straight themselves and Pence going, slightly horrified, “Wait… Am I the token Straight?” 

(They all assured him they loved him just the same.)

Seifer brushes off the question, suddenly takes great interest in something under one of his fingernails.

“Wouldn’t have asked you if I cared about that.” He replies lowly, biting at the nail. Hayner just rolls his eyes, surprised at himself for thinking Seifer would actually  _ open up _ to him. 

“You should probably just tell them. It’d probably stop the whole ‘you need a girlfriend’ thing.” Seifer cocks a brow at him. “Well. They might just switch to, ‘you need a boyfriend!’ but at least you’d like the options better.” 

Seifer actually laughs at this and gives Hayner a smile softer than he’s used to. There’s an odd skip to Hayner’s heart that catches his breath and before the mood can settle in anymore than it has Hayner forces out his own laugh and throws his hands behind his head. 

“Although, from the sounds of it, they’re two seconds from dragging you to a fortune teller or some kind of love guru. So. Good luck with that.” 

“I thought you were my perfect match?” Seifer jokes. “Don’t tell me you’re breaking up with me already.” 

“What?” Hayner stutters before catching the teasing look on Seifer’s face and scowling. “Well, no, I mean… Fuck off!” 

Seifer laughs, one Hayner knows better the previous expressions, and shoves him half into the closest building to them. Hayner retaliates with his own shove, that he accidentally times perfectly, as it causes Seifer to stumble and fall, hitting the pavement  _ hard _ . There’s a brief moment of silence, both of them too stunned to speak, before Hayner erupts into a loud bout of laughter, utterly delighted. 

“You…! You…!” He tries to speak, but his words can only weakly break through the gasps he takes as his laughter continues. 

“You’re gonna pay for that, Chickenwuss!” Seifer shouts, without any real malice, and Hayner gives a small shout before darting up the hill, keeping himself just five paces in front of his rival. 

It feels weird sending Seifer off, almost too familiar for what their relationship has always been, but when Seifer smiles at Hayner shouting, “I’ll see you next week!” as Seifer boards the train to Radiant Garden, something begins to shift in Hayner. 

He and Seifer had never  _ really _ hated each other in high school... Maybe this is their chance to finally become friends. 

(By… you know, being fake boyfriends. No one ever said friendship was easy.)

His phone buzzes, repeatedly, not long after the train fades from view and Hayner pulls it out and watches the message stream in. 

**Olette sent :** _Welcome to the group chat!! I’m sending a picture of the booklet we filled in today. Remember to memorize everything, especially what’s connected to you! _

**Olette sent :** _Hayner, you’re weirdly good on Seifer trivia so don’t worry about that. Seifer, don’t forget Hayner’s birthday. _

**Pence sent :** 👌

**Pence sent :** _also my birthday is March 4th Seifer, don’t forget that either_

**Roxas sent :** _hey hey if its not claimed can I be the one who threatened Seifer like you break my friends heart I break your face ???_

Hayner rolls his eyes at this, but the smile he has is fond as he quickly types his own response. 

**Hayner sent :** _Roxas, we all know that would be Olette. Come on. _

**Roxas sent :** _damn u right_

**Seifer sent :** _ I’m feeling like I should be less surprised you’re all so invested. _

**Roxas sent : ** _ seifer u date one of us you date of us all man  _

**Roxas sent :** _also my birthday is april 20th _

**Pence :** _lol you’re both earth signs _

**Roxas sent :** _NO_

**Olette sent : ** _ Mine is October 16th!  _

**Seifer sent :** _I’m not memorizing all of these. _

**Roxas sent : ** _ -1 on the boyfriend scale  _

**Pence sent :** _Actually Roxas and Seifer are super compatible too _

**Roxas sent :** _ please stop looking this stuff up now pence im regretting it _

**Seifer sent :** _I’m shutting off my phone. _

**Olette sent :** _Have a safe trip! _

**Roxas sent : ** 👋

**Pence sent :** 🎉

**Hayner sent :** ✌️

Hayner closes his phone down as well, knowing the conversation had come to a natural conclusion. Turning on his heel, he exits the station, pausing outside to watch a local train slowly do its loop high against the town’s sunlit sky. He’s running through a small list of things he’ll have to do in order to complete his end of the bargain - time off requests and the pleading of notes for missed classes - but he’s oddly unbothered by the work and genuinely excited for the weekend ahead. 

Besides, this definitely isn’t a romcom and no matter how much Roxas jokes, neither Seifer nor Hayner would be in love with the other at the end of the whole adventure. 

Probably.

… Hopefully. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT... BEGINS!!  
This mother hecker took me mONTHS.... MONTHS!!!! anyways  
This fic IS technically complete already! However, all the chapters (besides this one) still need to go through my beta and a couple more edits before they're ready to be posted.  
I'm hoping to be able to post semi regularly, but my beta is working for bubble tea and cookies so.... pls... give her the time she needs dfgfd
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the first instalment!! I've been itching to post it and I'm really excited for the rest of the fic and I hope you all are too!!!! ;v;
> 
> Please leave any comments you have!!! Even if it's just a heart emoji!!! Whenever I was having a tough time I would go back and reread the ones on my other fics. They fill my heart with immense happiness!!!!
> 
> See you next time!


	2. Table or Booth?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 1

Seven A.M Friday morning finds Hayner half asleep and handing his cell phone to the train conductor instead of his ticket. The conductor, evidently as tired as he is, accepts his phone without a word and welcomes him aboard. It’s only when Hayner tries to text Seifer on his train ticket do the two of them realize their mistake. 

Seven fifteen finds Hayner - sans ticket, plus phone - begrudgingly and slowly texting Seifer  _ On train _ before shoving his phone into his sweater pocket and slouching over to try and find some semblance of a comfortable sitting position. He’s less than pleased at being forced to get up this early - not even  _ class _ had him out of his house at six thirty - and the only comfort he sees on the horizon is that Seifer promised him breakfast after Hayner’s numerous and  _ loud _ complaints. 

(“What the fuck do you  _ mean  _ I have to catch the early morning train?!” “Chickenwuss, I swear to…”) 

On top of that, he’s stuck travelling by himself and that never goes well. He becomes motion sick quite easily, rendering his phone useless for passing the time, and there’s nowhere to lean on the train, making napping rather difficult. Hayner also doesn’t particularly enjoy sleeping around strangers, or people in general, so he sighs as he resigns himself for “half sleeping, half jerking awake every two seconds” for the next  _ two hours _ . 

The promised breakfast better be the best damn breakfast in Radiant Garden if Seifer wants their first meet and greet with his coworkers to go well. 

Hayner feels his phone continue to buzz and vaguely wonders if he accidentally texted the group chat, and not Seifer alone. Deciding to risk it, he pulls his phone back out and quickly reads the last few messages he’s received. He did indeed text the group chat, but he gets an  _ All right _ from Seifer and a cheery  _ safe trip!! _ from Roxas who then continues onto his favourite topic.

**Roxas sent :** _we need a group name_

**Seifer sent :** _Is that important?_

**Roxas sent :** _ yes!!!! _

He briefly wonders why Roxas is up this early before remembering the awful early bird his roommate is. He had probably gotten up not longer after Hayner left. He can’t spare much more thought to it as his stomach immediately begins to churn, unaided by the sudden lurch of the train car. Hayner quickly abandons the conversation, only taking the time to plug in his headphones and start up Spotify, not liking the curious look of the brown haired woman sitting across from him. 

Hayner manages to stave off most of the potential nausea by keeping his head tucked and his thoughts focused on breathing, but meditation is only so fascinating, so he still looks up every so often, taking in the gentle morning light waking up across the land. It’s been years since he’s been to Radiant Garden, only going once for a school trip, so he’s pretty excited to explore it a bit. Even if this trip is surely going to kill him. 

Thirty minutes outside of Radiant Garden, Hayner’s boredom, and an endless stream of buzzing from his phone, finally urges him to check his phone again. (Being a fool, he thinks maybe, just maybe, this time he  _ won’t _ get sick.) Unlocking it, he finds the group chat has gone through several titles - things like  **Roxas Rules Seifer Drools** and  **Pence’s Sleuths** . The final result is a rather boring  **Seifer’s 1st Group Chat ** that spikes Hayner’s curiosity, so he skims up the last few messages to look into it. 

It starts after Roxas and Pence, who had also decided he needed to be up at this ungodly hour, finish with their last few naming choices and Seifer is apparently done with the amount of notifications he’s receiving.

**Seifer sent :** _Are all group chats this annoying?_

**Roxas sent :** _what? have you never been in a group chat before_

Hayner notices about a five minute break between this text and the next. 

**Roxas sent :** _seifer…. have you never been in a group chat before???_

**Seifer sent :** _I have one for work, but that’s just discussing shift changes, meetings, and stuff like that._

**Pence sent : ** _ dude… _

**Pence sent : ** _ that’s so sad :(  _

**Roxas changed the group name to : Seifer’s 1st Group Chat**

**Roxas sent :** _its ok seifer, were here for you_

Hayner laughs softly, inexplicably pleased at the idea of his friends and Seifer getting along. He’s surprised Seifer doesn’t at least have a chat with Rai and Fuu, and apparently his friends are too.

**Pence sent : ** _ why don’t you and Rai and Fuu have one?  _

**Seifer sent : ** _ Because we only text each other when we need something. Not for unnecessary prattle. _

**Pence sent : ** _ DUDE… _

**Pence sent : ** _ THAT’S SO SAD…. _

**Roxas sent : ** _ we should do nicknames next  _

**Roxas sent : ** _ give seifer the true group chat experience  _

Hayner can only imagine the string of texts he’s going to return to, but for now he gives a small yelp along with another lurch of the train cart and bends forward, resting his head on his knees. His music is loud enough to drown out most of the outside noise that comes with transit, but a gentle voice cuts through it and he’s slowly lifting his head to find the source.

It’s the woman from earlier, seated across from him, and she wears a concerned frown on her gentle face. Removing one of his ear pieces Hayner asks, as politely as he possibly can, “What?” 

“I asked,” The woman repeats, smile oddly amused, “Are you all right?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. I just get car sick and stuff.” Hayner explains awkwardly, forcing himself to sit in a more normal position. 

“Did you take anything for it?” She asks, although Hayner doesn’t understand her concern over a stranger.

Shrugging weakly, Hayner replies, “No, I always forget to… I’ll be fine though. We’re almost there.” 

“What’s bringing you to Radiant Garden so early in the morning?” She seems genuinely curious and while Hayner isn’t sure what’s making her so eager to start a conversation with a stranger, he figures there’s not much else he has to do, so he removes his other ear bud and settles in. 

“My, uh, boyfriend’s.. work. Is having a thing.” He explains haltingly, unsure of how much he wants to give away, but also too drowsy to try and think of any sort of lie. It’s still awkward calling Seifer his boyfriend, but it’s getting easier with time. Easier than he originally thought it would. 

“So early on a Friday?” 

“It’s actually at eleven but apparently we couldn’t be late.” Hayner rolls his eyes, making sure she knew just how annoyed he was with Seifer, and she looks entertained. 

“The nerve of him.” She says in mock horror and Hayner laughs. 

“I’m getting food, so he’s mostly forgiven.”

“A good boyfriend then.” She replies and Hayner goes pink. 

“Uh, yeah.” He says shyly. She smiles and moves the conversation on. They continue to share in some idle chatter until Radiant Garden is finally,  _ finally,  _ coming into view and Hayner is forced to go back to his phone to inform Seifer of this. 

**Seifer sent : ** _ I’m already at the train station.  _

“Is your boyfriend picking you up?” His train friend asks, and, presumably off his startled look, continues with, “You were smiling at your phone.” 

“Yeah, thankfully.” He was? “I haven’t really been to Radiant Garden so I’d get too lost otherwise.” 

“Well, I hope you and your boyfriend have a wonderful time.” She tells him and she seems so genuine that Hayner can’t help but beam back at her. 

“Thanks!” 

The next few minutes are filled with vague chatter from the few people on board as they organize their bags and belongings, while a couple stand to make sure they get out first. Hayner’s only carting along a single suitcase and his backpack, so he doesn’t even bother with standing until the doors have actually opened. 

Besides, standing on a moving vehicle for him is just begging for trouble. The earlier conversation had helped distract him a bit, but Hayner’s still reminding himself to breath slowly, soothing the discomfort in both his stomach and the pain starting to filter through his head. 

Train friend waits with him, offering a hand that he politely declines, and he’s not four steps off the train when he hears Seifer calling for him. Looking up, he spots the man \- _still without his beanie_ \- waving for him near a pillar. He returns the wave, turns to bid his new friend goodbye, but she’s already half way down the station, in the opposite direction, waving a rather dramatic goodbye. 

Hayner just laughs, returns it, although his wave is much more subdued, before moving to meet Seifer. 

“You look horrible.” Is the first thing Seifer says upon seeing him, ruining the almost cheerful mood Hayner had going for him. Hayner manages to give him a weak glare but his stomach is suddenly reminding him that it wants to die, so it’s not even close to full power. 

“Thanks, babe.” He mutters petulantly, striding forwards. He’s forced to stop, grunting and aggressively tugging on his suitcase when it gets caught on a groove on the platform. 

“You okay?” Seifer asks when he catches up to him, placing a hand between Hayner’s shoulder blades. Hayner subconsciously leans into it, and Seifer, desperate for some semblance of relief and comfort. Breathing slowly through his nose, he gives a soft sigh and nods.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I just get car sick.” 

“On trains?” Seifer’s voice is teasing, but he still rubs small circles on Hayner’s back. 

“Moving vehicles hate me.” Hayner tries to use the most pitiable voice he has, but all he gets for his efforts is a loud laugh and a gentle shove forward. 

“Come on, I’m sure breakfast will make you feel better.”

“It fucking better, Almasy, or you’re in trouble.” 

* * *

“Why is your work meeting so early in the morning for this anyways?” Hayner asks not long after they’ve settled into their booth at the malt shop Seifer promises has the best french toast in the world. Something Hayner has been craving for nearly two weeks. His stomach has finally settled enough for proper conversation, aided by the two coca cola’s Hayner guzzled down as soon as they were seated. Seifer, who ordered a coffee he dumped three sugar packets into, had eyed his pop with obvious disdain. 

“They want to give us as much time as possible to take advantage of the hotel.” He says with a shrug. “It’s basically a “thank you” for all the restoration work we’ve been doing.” 

“Restoration?”

“Radiant Garden got hit hard a while back with natural disasters and then, not long after that, a bunch of gangs moved in. My company works to keep the city safe and to get it back to its former glory.” 

“Huh. I didn’t know it was having so much trouble.”

“You’re pretty secluded in Twilight Town, it’s not hard to miss out on the news outside of it.” Seifer dismisses as he starts to read through his menu. 

Hayner frowns, something about Seifer’s word choice bothering him. 

“You’re from Twilight Town too.” He mutters into the menu he also lifts, although he does it to hide the odd irritation he feels. Seifer gives him a brief, “Huh?” apparently not having heard him, but Hayner shakes his head, refusing to repeat himself. “So where’s the french toast you said is oh so amazing?” 

“Bottom left.” 

Hayner’s only slightly annoyed the french toast does look absolutely delicious and makes sure to order three sides in order to add as much extra cost to the bill as possible. He refuses to pay for  _ anything _ on this trip, dammit, and will work hard to make sure he takes advantage of their deal as much as possible. 

“You’re not going to be able to eat all that.” Seifer frowns at him after they’ve finished ordering and their server has moved on. 

Hayner smirks, relishing the challenge. 

“ _ Watch me.”  _

Hayner succeeds in his challenge, much to Seifer’s disgusted face.

When they get the bill, their server doesn’t even bother asking if it’s separate or not, and hands it right off to Seifer, which bothers Hayner. They weren’t that obviously on a date, were they? 

“I still can’t believe you ate it all.” Seifer comments as they begin to make their way to the hotel. 

“I am a man of many talents.” Hayner replies, puffing out his chest. 

“Too bad Struggle wasn’t one of them, eh?” 

Hayner gives a sharp inhale, deeply offended, even more so at the smug look Seifer wears when he turns back to face him. Hayner promptly tries to whack Seifer with his suitcase, failing miserably, which ends with Seifer laughing at him  _ again _ , but also taking his suitcase for him, carting both Hayner’s and his own up the hill they were soon faced with. 

This is the  _ only _ reason Hayner decides to be lenient with the man. 

* * *

“How many people are gonna be here?” Hayner asks, swinging his legs a bit on the couch Seifer had shoved him onto. They had arrived right on time, but, according to the concierge, were the first to show up, leaving them to awkwardly meander around. After some incessant prodding, Seifer had texted Fuu, who informed him he and Hayner were now considered to be  _ early _ as the others had grabbed breakfast together somewhere else and were now running late. 

This leaves the two of them stuck in the ridiculously expensive looking lobby for who knows how long. It’s pristine, with a beautiful white and gold colour scheme and classic architecture. (Rococo style, Hayner will later learn via a lengthy and unasked for spiel by Cid.) There’s several crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and an honest to goodness fountain located in the middle that Hayner had taken a picture of and sent to the group with the message  _ IT’S SO FANCY….  _ Roxas had joked and told him to jump in but a swift scowl from Seifer stopped that pretty fast. 

Hayner watches as more guests make their way to the front desk, also taking their time to appreciate the building. A few shoot Hayner and Seifer curious looks, and Hayner slouches a bit at the attention, feeling out of place in his loose grey hoodie and baggy pants. He belatedly realizes he probably should have dressed for the meet and greet, and not for the travel, but six a.m. Hayner simply hadn’t been on that wavelength. 

Seifer stays silent, too caught up with his phone, so Hayner prompts him for a second time, looking for answers. 

“Just the restoration crew.” Seifer responds after a second, sounding distracted as he continues to type away. Hayner just rolls his eyes. 

“Okay. How many is that?” Hayner also realizes he probably should have quizzed Seifer on his work more. All he knows is that they work on the town’s restoration and that’s hardly enough to pass as someone’s boyfriend. There’s more expectations than Hayner originally thought there were to dating someone, and it’s starting to form a small ball of anxiety in his stomach. 

“A few.” 

Seifer is, of course, absolutely no help and Hayner sincerely debates whipping one of the overly plush couch cushions at him. 

“Thanks, asshole, that’s  _ incredibly _ informative.” Hayner gets a sharp glare for this, but Seifer still doesn’t turn to fully face him so Hayner continues. “How late are they gonna  _ be _ ? At this rate I could have taken the second train.”

“They’re almost here, stop bitching.” 

Hayner does not.

“You were the one who got all up in arms about arriving on time. And now here we are. I should have just taken the later train.” Hayner continues to gripe, hoping to put Seifer in just as bad a mood as himself. It’s working quite well, as Seifer’s grip on his phone tightens as he visibly tries to calm himself.

“Trust me, Chickenwuss.” He grits out. “I’m starting to wish that too.”

“Olette said you weren’t allowed to use insults as nicknames.” Hayner reminds him, flopping backwards with his arms crossed, pointedly ignoring his earlier use of “asshole”. 

“What are you going to do? Tell on me?” Seifer’s still staring at his phone, and still completely ignoring Hayner, so Hayner narrows his eyes and promptly pulls out his phone to text the group chat.

**Hayner sent: ** _ Olette, Seifer’s still using chickenwuss :(  _

Hayner hears the alert go off on Seifer’s phone and returns Seifer’s incredulous look with a deadpanned one. Several seconds into their impromptu staring contest, both their phones give off an alert and Seifer breaks to check his phone. Probably hoping it to be one of his coworkers. 

He isn’t rewarded.

**Olette sent : ** _ Seifer is it really THAT hard to use Hayner’s name? Or at least use a NICE nickname? _

**Pence sent :** _ohhh what about chickadee? it’s kinda like chickenwuss but cuter_

**Roxas sent :** _what about hayner if he actually calls you that PLEASE get a video of it I need to hear seifer say that _

**Hayner sent :** _My NAME is even easier. Hay-ner. Two syllables. Chickenwuss is what. FIVE?_

**Pence sent :** _three_

**Hayner sent :** _Seifer’s just a DICK abt things_

**Olette sent :** _Are you guys fighting already? _

“My coworkers are almost here.” Seifer grinds out. Hayner only looks up briefly to scoff, immediately going back to his phone.

“Hallelujah.” He mutters as it buzzes again. 

**Pence sent :** _what about chickie? short, same amount of syllables as hayner, and seifer could pretend he’s actually calling hayner chickenwuss to get in his daily dose of insults._

**Roxas sent :** _thats very important_

**Roxas sent : ** _ we all know what happens if you dont let a seifer get in his proper amount of insults  _

**Olette sent :** _His power will wane! We can’t have that. Chickie it is!_

“‘Chickie’?” Seifer says to himself, baffled, tired, but still a little amused. “Would you actually let me call you that?” 

“Probably not. I like ’Snookums’ better.” Hayner replies, aiming for nonchalance. He doesn’t  _ actually _ have any desire to fight with Seifer, so he’s hopeful this is a good lead into a calmer conversation. It seems to work, as he watches most of the tension in Seifer’s shoulder relax with a short laugh, so Hayner continues. “‘Chickie’ is fine. I don’t really care. You’ve called me it before.” 

Seifer spins on him at an almost frightening speed, startling Hayner who jumps in his seat a bit, looking bewildered. There’s a small flush to Seifer’s cheeks as he goes, oddly aggressive, “I have not.” 

“Uh, yes? You have? In high school sometimes when you would call for me. Honestly, if it’s coming from you, I pretty much respond to any word that starts with a ‘C’.” One time a half asleep Hayner responded to Seifer saying “Canister” but thankfully the older blond wasn’t paying attention to him, so the only one to laugh at his mistake was Roxas. “Did you not do it on purpose?” 

Seifer goes back to scowling and ignoring him, turning away and almost insistently reading his phone.

“Why the hell would I call you, ‘Chickie’?” He hisses. Hayner’s not sure what’s got him so fired up so he goes back to leaning into the couch. 

“I dunno. I’m cute?” Hayner aims for a joke, but Seifer glares at him. It’s pretty funny, if Hayner’s being honest, seeing Seifer get so flustered over something like a nickname. “It’s not that big a deal.” 

Seifer’s interrupted by his phone, and when Hayner glances down to check his own, he discovers it’s not their group chat and immediately perks up.

“Are you coworkers finally here?” 

Seifer only grunts in reply, so Hayner stands, dirtying the incredibly clean and fancy couch with his shoes as he tries to read over Seifer’s shoulder. The man has a good five inches on him so the couch is his only real hope. Seifer throws him an irritated look when Hayner leans on his shoulder, but doesn’t brush him away as he’s not given the time, a girl’s voice cheerfully breaking through the quiet air of the lobby.

“Heeeeey! Seifer! We’re here!” They both look up and Hayner almost balks back at the sheer number of people now walking towards them. With a quick count he makes a guess at roughly ten or more. He’s not expecting this many and he feels small pinpricks of anxiety from earlier begin to climb up his back. As he quickly makes his way through all the faces, he’s comforted at the sight of Rai and Fuu, happy to know he’d know someone. 

“Took you long enough.” Seifer calls back, his usual arrogance coming through as he rolls back his shoulders and tucks his phone into his pocket with a smirk. Hayner shoots both the group and Seifer a quick glance before hopping down from the couch and tucking himself a bit behind Seifer. While crowds of people he  _ knows _ are hardly a problem, the sheer weight of what he and Seifer are actually doing is starting to press down on Hayner, aggravating some of his previous anxiety even more. These people think he’s dating Seifer. Fuck. In all technicalities, he  _ is _ dating Seifer. 

It’s a lot to handle. 

“That was Squall’s fault.” The first girl says flippantly, waving her hand towards a brown haired man. 

“It’s  _ Leon _ .” Said brown haired man scowls back at her, arms firmly crossed. Hayner’s eyes widen as he takes in the man’s scar, a mirrored image of Seifer’s. He wants to ask Seifer about it, but this group is just as chatty as his friends back home, and he’s hardly given the chance to breathe before the girl is speaking again. 

“He and Cloud took forever arguing over who was going to pay. But that’s not important! Is this him? Your boyfriend?” The girl is weirdly excited, moving closer with every question, and Hayner just ducks his head in an awkward greeting, simultaneously hiding himself even farther behind Seifer as he does so. 

“Uh, yeah, hi…” Hayner mumbles before Seifer takes over.

“This is Hayner. Careful though, he’s in a bitchy mood since he had to take the early train.” 

Hayner immediately glares and goes to give a retort, when a familiar laugh sounds and another woman’s voice comes through, “Don’t be so mean, Seifer, it was a very long train ride.” 

“Oh!” Hayner pulls out from behind Seifer a bit, his tone and mood rising, “It’s you!” 

“Hello again!” His train friend smiles at him. “I was wondering if this was the “work thing” you mentioned.” 

“You know Aerith?” Seifer asks in disbelief. 

"Sort of? We were on the same train coming here.” Hayner’s secretly glad he kept up their charade on the train, not entirely sure how he would have gotten out of it otherwise. 

“Ehhh! That’s no fair! I wanted to meet him first! Hi, Hayner! I’m The Great Ninja Yuffie!” The excitable girl chirps, posing as she introduces herself. Hayner hardly has the time to process this before everyone else is putting in their two cents. 

“Yuffie, Rai and Fuu already knew him. You wouldn’t have been the first no matter what.”

“They don’t count! They knew him in Twilight Town! I wanted to be the first  _ here- _ “

“Why?” 

“Because-!” 

This conversation soon blends with three others as the rest of the group begins to talk amongst themselves, and to Seifer. Hayner can hardly parse most of it and only presses closer to Seifer as the din rises. It’s a lot of information to take in at once and it’s not aiding in his anxiety at all. While they seem kind, it’s a bit overwhelming having to face them all at once. Hayner relaxes a bit when Rai gives him a cheery wave before getting distracted by a neighbouring conversation and Fuu even gives him something akin to a sympathetic look when he catches her eye. 

Eventually, the group goes back to him, Yuffie demanding his attention.

“Hayner! Are you excited for the weekend?” Hayner can only manage a startled nod before she’s grinning and continuing on. “We’re excited to get to know you. We’ve heard a lot about you!”

Hayner’s not sure how to take this, didn’t he and Seifer just start with their fake dating? How would they have known about him? 

Before he can dwell too much on it, Seifer loops one of his arms behind Hayner, pinching a small section of his back to stir the conversation forward and to remove any baffled expression Hayner’s sure he’s wearing.

“Oh, uh, yeah, Seifer doesn’t talk about work much so…” It’s an awkward save but it seems to work. “But I’m happy to… be here.”

Hayner hopes later he can assert himself as not a complete idiot, hopefully when talking to a lot less people and he’s not half asleep, but for now he’s extremely relieved when a loud voice booms out over the ground, and an older, gruff looking blond is yelling at them. 

“Alright ya lazeabouts! Let’s get this show on the road. I got yer keys and everything right here.”

“Thanks Cid!” Chirrup several people in the crowd and Hayner only sort of tries to follow after Seifer when he goes to grab their key before deciding to awkwardly sway on spot and look for their suitcases. 

“We’re leaving you today to go do whatever you want. Explore, sleep, take your pick! But, tomorrow we’re all meeting for some games together and Sunday we having a group dinner. A’right?" As he finishes handing out the last key, he swipes across his nose and grins. “Now! Get outta here!” 

The group laughs, unfazed by the treatment, and begin to sort themselves out. There’s a few couples Hayner spots, including Seifer’s brown haired twin (Leon? Squall?) who speaks quietly to a blond man who has the spikiest hair Hayner has ever seen. Hayner watches them briefly, their conversation seeming oddly intimate for such a crowded room, but then the blond looks up and catches his eye and Hayner immediately averts his gaze. 

Aerith also seems to be with her partner; a tall, muscular black haired woman who Hayner knows without a doubt could kick his ass. Aerith too meets his gaze, but she gives him a soft smile and wave, which Hayner happily returns before Seifer’s tugging on his arm and demanding his attention. 

“Oi, we all got rooms on various floors. Do you want one with a balcony or immediate pool access?” Hayner doesn’t much feel like thinking so he just shrugs.

“Whatever.” 

This earns him a scowl, but Hayner just smiles back at him. 

“We’ll keep the balcony, you and Fuu enjoy the pool.” Seifer tells Rai, who grins and thanks them both, making his way back to Fuu who stands not far off. Hayner’s almost 90% they’re a couple, but he’s never actually asked and they’ve never really confirmed anything. Even as he watches them make their way to their room, he still has doubts. 

“Seifer!” Yuffie cheers, suddenly a lot closer than before. “We’re gonna go explore the resort. Do you and your booooyfriend wanna come?”

She drags out the word much more than necessary and Hayner feels all sorts of uncomfortable. He’s really beginning to wish he had turned down this whole ordeal and just stayed home, when Seifer grabs his hand, loosely lacing their fingers together and covers for them, “Nah, Hayner’s still pretty exhausted from the trip so we’re just going to go to our room and lie low for a bit.” 

Hayner gives Seifer’s hand a brief squeeze of gratitude as he lets out a silent sigh, relieved to free himself of this rather overwhelming situation. Yuffie tries to object, but Leon intervenes, distracting her and Seifer takes this chance to wave to the rest and tug Hayner away, their luggage in tow. He hears Yuffie try and shout something, but she’s quickly shushed. Hayner turns and spots Leon pinching the bridge of his nose as Yuffie huffs in front of him. Both Leon’s partner and Aerith look rather amused, even if he doesn’t. When Hayner turns back, he knocks into Seifer’s arm lightly to catch his attention. 

“Is Leon your secret twin you never told us about?” He whispers conspiratorially. In reality, Leon’s more like a foil, almost everything about him opposing Seifer’s own, but the idea of Seifer having a secret twin is too hilarious to pass up. “Is he the evil version of you? Or are you the evil twin?” 

While Seifer does roll his eyes initially, there’s a fond grin that shows up right after that soothes some of Hayner’s previous anxiety. Even if Seifer’s next words are, “Shut up.” 

It’s a small adventure trying to find their room, as they end up on the wrong floor twice and the right floor once in-between that. Hayner’s amazed with both their patience for the situation, as Hayner only laughs when they figure out the floor they thought for sure wasn’t theirs, turns out to be the right one after all. Hayner still enjoys it, happy to peek around the hotel. He figures out where the spa and gym are, so at least the whole misadventure isn’t a complete waste of time. 

He’s still relieved when they finally unlock their door and make their way into their ridiculously fancy room. It’s in the same style of the lobby and almost bigger than the apartment he shares with Roxas. To the left lies a seating area, with what’s probably a 40” television and overly plush couches. A small kitchen rests in the far corner, complete with a mini bar set up and a welcome basket. There’s also french doors that presumably open onto the balcony, and a work desk, which baffles Hayner. Who would go on vacation to  _ work _ ? 

While Hayner tries to take in as much of the room as he can, Seifer pushes past him, the door clicking shut behind him, and makes his way to the bed to drop of his suitcase. It’s only then Hayner spots the  _ singular _ bed and a warm flush take over his cheeks as a realization comes in hard and fast.

“There’s only one bed.” 

A classic trope. How had he forgotten this? 

Seifer just looks at him like he’s an idiot.

“This is a  _ couple’s _ retreat, Lamer. Of course there’s only one bed.” 

“I’m sleeping on the floor.” Hayner says decisively and Seifer looks as though he hadn’t thought anything stupider could have come out of his mouth. 

“Are you  _ five _ ? This is a king sized bed. Us and all your lamer friends could fit in here with ease. Stop complaining.” 

Hayner huffs, unsure of which part of that statement he wants to challenge first, but decides against of all it, surprised at how relaxed Seifer is towards the idea of them sleeping so close. Although, as he inspects the bed, he realizes just how massive the thing is.

“It’s like five beds put together. Who the hell needs this much space?” Hayner says in wonder, hauling his suitcase to the right side of the bed, Seifer already claiming the left. 

“You do, evidently.” Seifer clips back at him, looking for something in his bag. Hayner decides to be agreeable and ignore him. 

Kicking off his shoes, Hayner tosses himself on the bed and is surprised as how much he bounces. The top blanket is plush, and he soon sinks into it, relishing in the comfort it provides the leftover motion sickness and anxious turmoil.

“I’m never leaving this bed again.” Hayner decides, rolling to try and wrap himself in a bit of the blanket. Seifer glances at him and gives a short laugh. 

“Take a nap. Maybe you’ll stop being such a grouch.” 

Hayner makes a face at him but stretches out, much like a cat, settling into the bed. He doesn’t have the energy to try and do much else anyways. 

“What are you gonna do?” Hayner asks, already drowsy. He shifts for a couple moments, trying to find the most comfortable spot. He ends up diagonal on the bed, sprawled on his belly and angled towards Seifer. He turns his face to look at the other for his answer. 

“Some work.” Seifer replies, pulling out his laptop bag and setting himself up on the large couch. Hayner frowns. 

“Dude, it’s your vacation.”

“I just have a few things to get done.” Seifer dismisses, already typing something out. If Hayner were in the mood, he would take this time to properly investigate the exact details of Seifer’s “work” but the man is already knee deep in it and not seeming like he’s about to pay any attention to Hayner’s questions, so Hayner huffs and turns to head to face away from the other man. 

“Weirdo.” 

It takes Hayner a few minutes to settle in completely. While the bed is probably the comfiest things he’s ever laid on, his sleeping habits are rather particular, and sleeping in foreign situations often takes much longer than if he were in his usual bed.

Perhaps it’s the early morning exhaustion, the fact he hadn’t actually slept much more than four hours the night before, or the oddly comforting sound of Seifer’s typing, but Hayner hardly has any time to worry if sleep would elude him before his eyes are drifting shut and he’s sound asleep. 

There’s only one point Hayner lightly stirs, and that’s when he feels something soft being draped across him and a gentle touch smoothing back some of his hair. He doesn’t properly wake to it - too soothed by the action - and only lets out a soft sigh before sleep is fully claiming him once more.

As naps often go, Hayner wakes up disoriented and quite sure he hasn’t slept for more than twenty minutes. He lifts himself onto his elbows with a grunt, something he’s sure he meant to be some semblance of a word, and looks around blearily. From his spot on the couch, Seifer raises his eyebrows and smirks.

“Enjoy your beauty sleep, Princess?” He asks, leaning into the couch as he does, cocking his head to the side in his usual arrogant manner. Hayner’s too out of it to pay much attention, however. 

“What time is it?” Hayner asks, his voice raspy from sleep, as he leans on one arm to use his other hand and rub at his eyes. 

“Two.” 

“Huh…” Hayner says before yawning. Shifting, he notices something warm covering him and turns, finding the comforter has been pulled out and tossed over him. “Did you throw a blanket on me?” 

“Who else would have?” There’s an odd flush to Seifer’s face when he replies, that Hayner doesn’t catch, and his words come out unnecessarily defensive. Hayner just ignores that. 

“Thanks.” Hayner says, entirely genuine, before flopping back onto his stomach and properly wrapping himself up in it. He digs out his phone and it’s only when its bright screen flashes the time at him does Seifer’s previous answer sink in. “Wait, did you say two? Have you been working this whole time?”

It’s been just over two hours since Hayner apparently passed the hell out, and Hayner looks back at the man who’s resumed his earlier position, shrugging off the question. 

“Pretty much.”

“Could you at least try to enjoy your vacation?” At this rate Hayner is going to be stuck trying to play third wheel to Rai and Fuu to have any sort of fun. He’s not even sure they know what the word “fun” meant either. Seifer spares him a brief look over the top of his laptop. 

“Shut up and go back to sleep.”

Hayner does not. He sticks his tongue out at Seifer instead, curling up in the bed in order to text his friends. In the non-Seifer group chat, of course. 

He opens the chat, and finds there’s not much he’s missed, there only being a few inquiries of how everything is going with him and Seifer’s coworkers and Hayner finds they’ve all been re-nicknamed, most likely by Roxas or Pence. 

**fake dating au sent : ** _ I am… alive. _

**fake dating au sent : ** _ Barely. _

**fake dating au sent : ** _ And we didn’t talk w the coworkers for long, everyone just went to their rooms. _

**fake dating au sent :** _ Room is massive. I’m pretty sure the bed is bigger than our apartment, Rox.  _

He exits out of the chat after this, not expecting a reply too quickly - they’re all presumably at work or class right now anyways - and moves on to his various forms of social media, looking to see if anyone else is having just as exciting a Friday. Hayner tended to forget about posting, much happier to just repost the stories Pence tagged him in instead. He’s also not sure he  _ wants _ to post much of his whole endeavour as he knows the questions would be annoying, invasive, and a  _ lot _ . 

He’s fully caught up and bored again within an hour. (Thankfully, he had several gatcha games to attend to as well as Animal Crossing, which helped, but he could only do so much on them.)

“Seifer?” Hayner’s draped himself across the bed again. His voice comes out a little squashed, as his face his half buried in the mattress. 

“Mm.” 

“Are we going anywhere tonight?”

Seifer glances up at him with an inquisitive look.

“Do you want to?”

“… Not really.” Hayner says after a moment’s thought. He does want to explore the hotel a bit more, but he’s still not quite ready to face the energy the coworkers seemed to be throwing at him. 

“Well, there you go. We can just stay in and order room service.” They have  _ room service _ ? Hayner perks up immediately. Pushing himself onto his elbows, Hayner crawls to one side of the bed to dig through the desk in order to try and locate a menu as Seifer continues on, “I don’t really feel like dealing with them yet either.”

“I thought you liked your coworkers?” Hayner asks, slightly distracted as he goes through the various drawers on Seifer’s bedside table. He finds other various papers, but nothing akin to a menu, unfortunately. 

“I do. Just not when it comes to this particular subject.” 

“Do you just not like dating?” Seifer glowers at him. “What? That’s what it seems like.” 

When Seifer doesn’t bother responding to him, other than an irritated huff, Hayner gives up on finding a menu goes back to his phone. He reasons the menu is probably in one of the desks further away and Hayner isn’t that interested in moving yet. He hopes his friends are free and willing to aid in his boredom, but they only give him a few replies so it’s not long before he’s turning to Seifer for some entertainment.

“Hey. Hey, Seifer.” Seifer gives out only a small hum of acknowledgement. “Let’s go explore the hotel.”

“I thought you didn’t want to go anywhere?”

“I don’t really want to meet with all your coworkers, but I kinda wanna look around the place.”

There’s a moment that Hayner wonders if Seifer is going to send him off on his own, which Hayner would ignore - exploring by yourself sucks - but then he’s closing his laptop and standing with a stretch, lifting his arms high above him. Hayner watches this, and when Seifer catches him, he smirks. 

“What? Like what you see?” He asks, and Hayner would almost be embarrassed if he wasn’t already used to such accusations, his friend group often making similar jokes to each other. 

“No, I’m just waiting for you to answer my question.” Seifer almost looks annoyed but then he’s turning his back to Hayner and grabbing something out of Hayner’s vision. “Well?” 

“Just give me a second. I’m grabbing my phone and we can head out.”

“Really?” Hayner asks, jumping to attention. “Great!” 

He nearly trips trying to detangle himself from the comforter, and is properly laughed at by Seifer. But they’re out the door not long after Seifer relocates their keys and hands one off to Hayner, with very strong instructions not to lose it. Hayner refuses to make any promises. 

As two incredibly stubborn people, they both refuse to find a map of the place at first, and end up circling a good chunk of the guest rooms, rather than any of the amenities for fifteen minutes. Seifer ends up giving in and searching for a map on the resort’s website after Hayner’s third comment of, “Wow. More rooms. So beautiful and exquisite.” 

They return to the lobby to properly start their adventure and decide on looking for the pool first, as it’s what Hayner’s most excited for. They find out there’s  _ two _ , one inside and one out, and Hayner’s blown away by just how fancy the place is all over again. As they make their way towards the first pool inside, Hayner turns to Seifer. 

“Should we hold hands?” Hayner asks, offering his to Seifer. Seifer gives him a baffled look. “What? Isn’t that what couples do?” 

There’s a brief moment where Seifer almost seems to agree, but then he’s pulling himself back and shaking his head, covering any embarrassment he might have felt with his usual smirk. 

“Didn’t Olette say we just had to stand close together? Besides, not every couple holds hands everywhere.” 

Hayner gives a drawn out, “Okay.” but he’s quickly distracted by a large aquarium located near the entrance of the pool to bother much more with it. After a mini photo shoot of the fish, they’re off to explore the inside of the pool and the various amenities located near by. 

The pool boasts a more classical Japanese aesthetic, with wood trimmings, rock features, and some bamboo that gives a much more harmonious and relaxed feeling that Hayner quite enjoys. It’s like a hot spring, and Seifer tells him that while this hotel doesn’t have one, there were a couple hot springs not far from Radiant Garden. Hayner’s disappointed there isn’t one here, but perks up when he spots the two saunas, as well as the four hot tubs circling the olympic sized swimming pool. Hayner still can’t believe they get this all for  _ free _ .

“What the fuck did you guys do? I thought you just did restoration?” He asks as they slowly make their way around the pool. 

“We helped the owner out of a few tight spots with gangs, so he’s more than happy to show us his appreciation.” Seifer shrugs. 

“Jeez, I need to save someone’s life at some point if it gets me access to  _ this. _ ” 

Seifer rolls his eyes at him.

“What a hero.” 

Hayner grins back at him and poses, mimicking that of the famed wrestler, Hercules. He makes it through three poses before Seifer is shoving him and walking off, threatening to leave him behind. As they walk, Hayner jokingly goes to shove Seifer in the pool twice and the hot tub once. Seifer almost succeeds in tossing Hayner into the pool, failing only because of Hayner’s well tuned death grip on his arm, Seifer’s surprisingly steady balance, and Hayner’s shriek alerting the lifeguard on duty. 

They move out pretty quickly after that. 

They’re nearly done with their self guided tour, having found the spa and gym (again) as well as a designer clothing store that Hayner tries to abandon rather quickly, taking one look at a jacket and finding the price to be the same as one month’s  _ rent _ . But Seifer refuses and drags him through it to make hushed, snickering comments over some of the styles. Eventually, the store’s associate catches on and walks up to them, saying, in a frightening sweet tone, “Can I help you two?” 

It’s an obvious threat, her manicured nails tapping out an impatient beat on her closed hands, but Seifer only smiles in return, thanking her for her offer, but assuring her they were just about to leave. 

She makes no arguments, but apparently Seifer’s smoother than Hayner ever thought, as she calls out, “Please come again soon.” after them in a tone that seemed to actually indicate she meant her words. Hayner calls Seifer a flirt and he gets a wink in return. 

It’s nearly five when they decide to take a small break in the cozy garden cafe, one that overlooks the outside pool, before retiring back to their room. It’s quite cramped with plants, but the air has a rather fantastical vibe that Hayner enjoys, so he doesn’t mind the crowded space. There are few guests joining them in the cafe, which also helps, and they’re too busy focusing on each other to pay them any mind anyways.

Hayner’s in the middle of taking a few pictures for Olette and Pence when they finally run into one of Seifer’s coworkers. Thankfully, it’s only Aerith and her partner, so Hayner’s not too worried. Although, as the couple approaches them, when Hayner spots them holding hands, he makes sure to nudge Seifer and say in a stage whisper, “ _ They’re _ holding hands.” 

Seifer’s distracted from greeting the duo in order to give Hayner a threatening look, but its effect is lost on him. 

“What?” Aerith asks, politely curious but also slightly amused. 

“Seifer won’t hold my hand.” Hayner tells her plainly, a grin breaking on his face when Seifer gives a small shout at this. 

“Don’t call me out in front of my coworkers!” Seifer hisses, reaching down to pinch Hayner’s arm, which Hayner yanks back pretty quick with a pout.

“Then don’t do anything that deserves being called out!” Hayner replies, crossing his arms in a dramatically petulant manner. While Aerith’s partner looks a little worried and bewildered by their interaction, Aerith only gives a small chuckle that she covers with the hand not currently holding her partner’s. 

“You two make a cute couple.” She says, smiling at the both of them. There’s a worried look to Seifer’s face that relaxes slightly at this as Hayner breaks into another grin. 

“Thanks! It’s all because of me.” 

“I’m sure it is.” Aerith agrees before the conversation moves onto some quick introductions and Hayner’s finally learning her partner’s name: Tifa. He finds they’re all close friends with Cloud, Leon’s partner, knowing the spiky man before befriending Leon and Yuffie. From the brief stories he catches, Hayner has to wonder how exactly two rather sullen seeming men started dating, but before he can ask, Aerith and Tifa are heading off for an early dinner. They extend an invitation that Hayner and Seifer only decline when they tell them the others would also be joining them. 

“I think I need a proper ten hours of sleep to deal with Yuffie’s energy.” Hayner admits. He realizes belatedly that’s, well, a little  _ rude _ \- Hayner’s never had much of a filter - but this time it’s Tifa who laughs and nods her agreement. 

“We understand. We’ll see you tomorrow then, Seifer, Hayner!” 

Hayner waves goodbye and goes to go check his phone to see if the pictures turned out, when Seifer’s jerking Hayner’s arm from him and yanking him in close.

“Chickenwuss, I will murder you.” Seifer warns, but his expression doesn’t match the threat well enough for Hayner to be too bothered by it. 

“You’re so romantic.” Hayner drawls back with an eye roll. “Don’t be such a stiff. She already thinks we’re in a relationship, stop stressin’ so much.” 

Seifer’s eyes narrow, searching Hayner’s face briefly, but when he doesn’t seem to find anything to argue, he pulls back, much to Hayner’s relief. Seifer is, unfortunately, quite handsome and having him that close could fluster almost anyone. 

“Still, be more careful.” Seifer says eventually, crossing his arms. Most likely in an attempt to look menacing. Hayner, a bit tired from the expedition, doesn’t rise too much to the bait, not looking for another fight. 

“Don’t worry, Seifer, I’m not going to ruin the charade.” An odd look flashes across Seifer’s face, but it’s too fast for Hayner to make any sense of it. “Do you wanna head back to the room? I’m getting pretty hungry. I think we both forgot about lunch.” 

Seifer has no objections, and after another, unplanned, twenty minute adventure in which they get lost for the  _ second _ time, they finally manage to stumble back into their room. They stick to their original plan and order in, after Seifer finds the menu that Hayner spent five minutes looking for in thirty seconds, and Seifer has to consistently stop Hayner from ordering too much food. 

“But it’s  _ free _ !” 

“You’re not going to eat all that in the time we’re here! We have other meals as well!”

“But it’s FREE!” 

Seifer relents after much pestering and agrees to letting Hayner do half orders of the five dishes he wants to try most before ordering a single meal set for himself. They get a complimentary bottle of wine neither have any desire to drink and a platter of chocolate strawberries that they both stare awkwardly at before Hayner tucks it away in the fridge. 

Hayner succeeds in finishing all his dishes, and even has the nerve to swipe some of Seifer’s food as well when the older man becomes distracted by a text message. At Seifer’s mystified look, Hayner explains, mouth full of steak, “I got a real fast metabolism.” 

This earns a swift scowl, a flick to the forehead, and the instructions: “Then eat the strawberries and fuck off!” 

Hayner does - not saving any for Seifer out of spite - but not because Seifer tells him to. He also manages to steal Seifer away from his computer long enough for him to agree to a movie. (Hayner is  _ not _ about to entertain himself for the entire night.) It’s a cheap horror flick Hayner had been recommended by Roxas, something fun to watch due to its terrible-ness, and it’s the perfect choice for the night to help them relax, as they end up talking over it the whole time. Laughing at the special effects, obscure plot, and corny lines. 

“I’ve seen a ghost, you know.” Hayner says as the credits roll, throwing some of the popcorn he scavenged from their welcome basket into his mouth. Seifer wears a suspicious, but playful, glare when he turns to face him. 

“You have not.” 

“I have!” Hayner insists, sitting up straighter, with a wicked grin and the most dramatic voice he can muster. “The Haunted Lady of the Tram Ways! One who only comes out after—“ 

He’s rudely interrupted by Seifer laughing and kicking him off the couch. He laughs even harder at Hayner’s yelp and distressed cry of, “the popcorn!” as the whole bowl flies from his hands, scattering kernels everywhere. Thankfully there were hardly any left, but Hayner’s still upset by the casualties. And by the fact Seifer makes him clean it up. 

Hayner  _ allows _ Seifer a little longer to work when the movies finished, if only because he sees his classmate has emailed him the lecture and notes from the classes he missed that day and he moves to drape himself over the chair, studying over them. At least he didn’t miss any surprise quizzes, and his classmates’ notes are incredibly detailed. Hayner makes an internal note to try and remember to see if he can grab a copy of the rest of them before their final. 

Around eleven is when the two of them start making the move for bed and while it’s nowhere close to Hayner’s usual bedtime of two a.m., there’s not much else for the two of them to do and Seifer warns they’re very likely to get called down for a group breakfast.

Of course. 

Thirty minutes later finds Hayner lying on his side of the bed, sprawled on his back like a starfish and staring vacantly up at the dark ceiling. Radiant Garden is much brighter than Twilight Town and although the curtains are drawn, the city lights still carve out various streaks of light across the ceiling. He can also faintly hear people cheering from the poolside, their Friday night still going strong. Hayner debates reaching for his phone, as sleep seems to be eluding him much stronger this time, but he can feel a vague agitation starting to grow in his limbs and he’s not sure waking himself up  _ more  _ is going to help or not. 

Turning his head to the right, Hayner looks for Seifer. The man feels weirdly far away considering they’re sharing a bed, so Hayner rolls onto his stomach and throws him arm out to see if he can make contact with him. All he hits is the plush comforter, so he frowns, shifts over a little bit, and tries again. He still comes up with nothing, so he moves himself over a few more times until he finally swings out his arm and comes in contact with Seifer’s shoulder. 

Seifer, who was actually asleep, his back to Hayner, awakens with a jolt and a startled yell, rolling onto his back to make contact with his attacker, his hand a near vice grip on Hayner’s forearm. 

“What do you want?” Seifer hisses out quietly when he recognizes him. Hayner blinks owlishly in the dark and withdraws his hand when Seifer loosens his grasp. He can make out some of the details on Seifer’s face, his eyes accustomed to the low light, and he’s kinda cute when he’s half asleep and grumpy. 

“Nothing. Just trying to find you. This bed is huge.” Hayner whispers back, his chin planted on the mattress. Seifer groans, and rolls back onto his side to go back to sleep. 

“You’re the one who wanted to sleep on the floor.” 

“Yeah, but, like, that’s different. If you’re sharing a bed with someone you should be able to at least tell where they are. You’re like. On another continent.” Hayner’s not sure why this bothers him, but it obviously doesn’t bother Seifer, who only grunts in reply. Frowning, Hayner reaches forward to prod his back. “Seifer?” 

“Chickenwuss, please just go to sleep.” Seifer sighs out, sounding defeated and very tired. 

“I’m  _ trying _ .” Hayner mutters, but he does settle himself back down for another attempt. He’s still less than an arm’s length away from Seifer, but he doesn’t bother moving back to his side. Seifer is an almost militant sleeper and he crashes not three minutes after his last sentence, his breath coming out much softer, though his body keeps a rather rigid pose. Hayner’s not sure what annoys him more, Seifer sleeping, or just how fast the asshole can fall asleep, as both seem rather unfair to him at the moment.

At least he doesn’t snore.

Slowing his own breath, Hayner tries to relax, and it’s not long before he finds himself listening for Seifer and following his breathing pattern. It’s strangely soothing, and calms his body better than the loud voices echoing up from downstairs ever could. Hayner’s pleased the agitation that had started building early begins to dissipate and he’s soon allowed to drift off to sleep as well. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls forgive any mishandling of the ff characters I literally only know them from kh 
> 
> my roomie hadn't had time to beta so I decided to just post and then as I did she started to edit so LOL this has been beta'd............ the others.... will.. maybe be. on time. who knows. 
> 
> ALSO!!!! TY FOR ALL THE COMMENTS!!! I READ AND HUGGED EACH ONE TO MY CHEST!!!!!!!! I'm sorry I didn't reply but I'm just. weird. sometimes. about replying. but I read and loved each one!!!!! pls keep letting me know all ur thoughts I love love love hearing them!!!!!!! 
> 
> this chapter was fun and also.. v long. i thought about splitting it up but arm shrug 
> 
> I get motion sick pretty bad so I made Hayner suffer too lol 
> 
> hope everyone is well!!!! next chapter should be up in a week c:


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Two, Part One

Seifer wakes just after seven a.m., his body long since accustomed to the hour due to work. He’s still groggy, but he’s never been one to laze around too long in bed so he immediately stretches his arms out with a long yawn. Rolling to his back, he throws his arm out wide to aid himself in pushing himself up to a seated position, when his hand hits flesh and a small yelp is heard. Snapping his hand back to his chest, Seifer stares down at a disoriented Hayner, who is hardly more than a foot away, startled and with a variety of unposed questions ready to spill from him. 

“What wazzat for?” Hayner mumbles sleepily, looking up at Seifer and beating him to the punch. Only one of Hayner’s large brown eyes is visible as most of his face is still firmly planted into the mattress. He appears to out of it to be properly angry, resembling more of a disturbed puppy than his usual firecracker self.

“It’s your own fault for sleeping so close.” Seifer replies after collecting himself, moving his hand to a spot not far from the other’s shoulder. His voice is raspy from sleep and hardly above a whisper. A small smile grows slowly on Hayner’s face at this.

“You sound like a smoker cat.” He giggles lightly, burying his face as he tries to settle himself back down into sleep. 

“A smoker cat?” Seifer repeats, amused. “Thanks, babe.” 

Hayner laughs a little louder at this before it’s over taken by a yawn. His eyes close again, but when he notices Seifer shifting and looking to actually get out of bed, he reopens them, curious, “What time is it?” 

“Seven.” Seifer tells him softly, standing and pulling on the blanket so he can toss it completely over Hayner. “Go back to sleep.” 

“Seven?” Hayner repeats, incredulous. He manages to push himself onto his elbows to squint at Seifer, offended and confused, with the blanket forming a small hood over his head. “Why the hell are you up?” 

“I always wake up early.” Seifer informs him with a small chuckle before crouching to dig through his suitcase. 

“Crazy.” Hayner whispers as he crawls up a bit in order to lay on the pillows he had forgotten to use the night before. Seifer doesn’t bother to reply, and when he’s collected everything he needs for his shower, he glances at Hayner, pleased to see him asleep once more. He really doesn’t have any desire to deal with a sleep deprived Hayner for a  _ second _ day.

When nine a.m. rolls around, Hayner finally starts to move again, slowly unburying himself from the mound of blankets and sitting up with a dazed look. He stays seated for a minute, apparently not quite ready to face the world. 

“You alive over there, Blondie?” Seifer asks from his spot on the couch. Hayner doesn’t even face him, just lets out a small grunt that cannot be taken as an affirmative or a negative. After a couple more seconds, Seifer hears Hayner mumble a few things, but they’re things Seifer just presumes to be questions for himself, so he doesn’t make a move to answer any of them. Seifer glances back up only when Hayner swings his feet over the edge of the bed. 

“Are we still going for breakfast?” Hayner asks, stretching his arms above his head. Hayner’s shirt, a plain black T, nearly swamps him - as if it’s Seifer’s shirt, and not his own, a thought that throws Seifer off kilter for a moment - and he’s too relaxed for Seifer’s taste. He’s not accustomed to seeing Hayner this… open. Vulnerable. Part of Seifer feels like they’re in the Sandlot, fifteen again, and Hayner’s not pulling up a proper defence. Not guarded enough for the world they live in. It stirs up too many emotions, more than Seifer’s ready and willing to deal with, so he forces his gaze back to his computer screen when he answers. 

“I’m not sure, no one’s said anything yet.” 

“What? Rude.” Hayner huffs before leaning forward and planting himself on the floor. “I’m gonna shower then. You good for the bathroom?”

“All yours, Chickenwuss.” 

Hayner throws him a brief look, as if debating whether or not to comment on the insult, but he eventually decides against it, padding around the bed to get to his suitcase dropped on the other side. 

“Are we going to the pool today? I wanna know if I should put on swimming shorts  _ now _ or if I should put them on later, or bring them… What do you think?” As he’s crouching, he’s hidden most by the bed. At his question, Hayner leans up a bit to peek at Seifer over the massive mattress. Seifer, who had not given his outfit choice nearly as much thought, just shrugs. 

“Whatever you want. We’ll probably end up at the pool at some point though.” 

“Yeah, but if we’re going to breakfast I don’t want to seem underdressed again. All your coworkers looked so fancy yesterday.” 

Seifer scrunches his face up at this, his memory quickly offering him images of Yuffie in her typical biker boots and others in an unfortunate amount of belts. 

“They’re not, really, I promise you they won’t care.” Seifer assures him. When he can  _ hear _ Hayner rolling his eyes, he mimics the motion and continues. “If you’re that worried, wear something nice and then bring your backpack with some shorts and a towel. That way I can throw stuff in it too.” 

Hayner groans, but ultimately agrees, grumbling, “I should have just brought Moogle onesie to wear all weekend,” as he closes the bathroom door behind him after finally settling on an outfit. Seifer grins, allowing himself a brief chuckle at the thought of Hayner dressed in such a thing - refusing to admit that it may actually look cute on him - before attempting to return to his work.

In truth, there’s not much he genuinely needs to get done over this weekend, their head boss insisting everyone take this time to actually  _ vacation _ , but he prefers to keep behind his laptop screen, using it to avoid any potential awkwardness with Hayner. But, as his work isn’t terribly important, he finds himself easily distracted. He’s in the middle of thinking about if it’s even possible to buy a Moogle onesie when his phone buzzes and Roxas is greeting their chat in an annoyingly cheerful manner. 

**Roxas sent : ** _ GOOOOOD MORNING TO THE SECOND DAY OF THE HAYSEIF LOVEY LOVEY FESTIVAL!  _

**Roxas sent : ** _ i hope were all prepared for the fun in the sun and games were sure to see today _

Seifer immediately pinches the bridge of his nose, begging any deity that would listen to him for a remedy to the headache he knows is sure to take over soon. 

**Pence sent : ** _ HaySeif? that’s not very catchy.  _

**Olette sent : ** _ Roxas, how much coffee have you had? It’s only 9.  _

**Roxas sent : ** _ yes. i have not slept _

**Roxas sent : ** _ papers evil. xemnas wants my heart man who assigns a 15 page paper in a second year class WHO  _

**Roxas sent : ** _ and lets see U come up w smth better pence  _

**Olette sent :** _Who all nights a paper on a Friday?! When is this due!! _

**Pence sent :** _don’t pairing names like… slam half of one name and the other together? so like.. Hayfer? _

**Roxas sent : ** _ its not due till next wed but i got in the groove  _

**Roxas sent : ** _ and that sounds like.. heifer? isnt that like a cow or smth  _

**Olette sent :** _Roxas!_

**Pence sent :** _oh ya _

**Olette sent :** _You need sleep! Go to bed! I know you don’t work today! _

**Pence sent : ** _ what about seiner then? it’s the perfect half and half and easy to say!  _

**Roxas sent : ** _ i cant miss out on hayner and seifers love fest today and omg pence that is genius _

**Roxas sent : ** _ and so much faster to type  _

**Roxas changed the group name to : The Seiner Group **

**Roxas sent :** _perfect_

Seifer flips his phone over and shoves it halfway down the couch, unwilling to deal with it yet. He doesn’t understand Hayner’s group’s investment in their relationship, nor does he understand the appeal of group chats like this when all they did was set his phone off every thirty seconds. As if knowing it is being cursed at, his phone lets off another ding, but when Seifer turns it back over with a suspicious glare, a new name is popping up on his screen. 

**Aerith sent :** _Are we still going to meet for breakfast this morning? Tifa and I are awake now! _

Seifer gives a sigh of relief knowings it’s only work, but the text itself still sets off an irritating feeling in him. He recognizes this whole point of this trip is to get Hayner acquainted with his co-workers so they’d accept him as Seifer’s boyfriend and leave him alone, but it’s far more stressful than he imagined it would be. The stubborn, possessive side of him wants to keep Hayner away from everyone and the childish side of Seifer refuses to accept such a side of him even exists. 

It’s an all around mess, and Seifer’s fingers tap out an impatient beat on his phone as he muses on his own response while waiting for the others to give theirs. 

Predictably, Yuffie comes flying in first. 

**Yuffie sent :** _yes!!!!!!!!!!! Seifer you and Hayner have to come this time!!!!!! _

The excessive exclamation points irritate Seifer, while also reminding him of Roxas’s typing habits, and he debates answering right away or not. 

**Leon sent : ** _ Yuffie, they can come if they want to or not. Stop pestering them. _

**Aerith sent :** _Leon’s right. They don’t see each other often, they might want some time together. _

**Yuffie sent :** _ohhhh okay ;) _

Even if Yuffie hadn’t replied, Seifer’s face still would have warmed at Aerith’s implications, however pure.

**Leon sent :** _Yuffie! _

**Seifer sent : ** _ We’re only going to go if Yuffie isn’t there.  _

**Yuffie sent :** _HEY_

**Leon sent :** _I understand. _

**Yuffie sent : ** _ NO I’LL BE GOOD I JUST WANNA MEET HAYNER HE SEEMS COOL  _

**Seifer sent :** _Fine. Breakfast at 10:30 then? _

**Aerith sent :** _Works for us! At the poolside restaurant? I believe they have brunch. _

The rest of the group soon gives their own confirmations and Seifer locks his phone with a low groan. Dropping his right arm off the side of the couch, he tilts back and drapes his left arm over his face, desperate to block the oncoming embarrassment from the world. He’s dragged out of hiding when his phone starts going off again, and he’s forcibly reminded of his other group’s earlier conversation. After reading several texts that show curiosity at the two’s whereabouts, Seifer finally concedes.

**Seifer sent :** _We’re up but Roxas you might as well just go to bed. We’re having breakfast with my coworkers before we all have to take part in some games thing set up by our boss. We probably won’t be on our phones a whole lot. _

Seifer glances up only briefly when he hears the shower turn off before going back to his phone and the messages that continue to roll in. 

**Roxas sent :** _aw :( _

**Roxas sent :** _fine_

**Roxas sent :** _ ill sleep. _

**Roxas sent : ** _ hayner takes pictures for me _

**Roxas sent :** _someone push someone in a pool_

**Roxas sent :** _good night _

Seifer rolls his eyes, but still finds himself feeling vaguely fond. Of all the  _ reasonable _ courses of action Hayner’s group could have taken with this whole endeavour, Seifer never thought it would be this one. Seifer’s pleased, in a way, mostly because he knows Hayner wouldn’t have been able to keep a secret from them if his life depended on it. Neither of them had ever really done anything alone, after all. 

When Hayner finally makes his way out of the bathroom, the first thing he does as he wanders with a toothbrush half in his mouth, is yelp at the number of messages on his phone. He absentmindedly reads them as he continues with his morning ritual, and Seifer’s in the middle of importing some numbers from one file to another - finally getting back to work - when his “fake” boyfriend looks up, utterly offended, and goes in the most accusatory manner, “You can use Roxas’ name but not mine?!” 

Seifer immediately begins to wonder if breakfast is actually a good idea or if could just toss Hayner in the pool instead. 

* * *

Hayner walks with a wide swing in his arms that causes Seifer to scowl at him, but Hayner ignores it, bringing his hands forward with a loud clap. 

“Do you know what your boss has planned for games?” Hayner asks, turning slightly in his boyfriend’s direction. He’s rather excited for the “main event” of the whole trip, his competitive side just itching to break free. Seifer doesn’t respond, and only continues eyeing him with a look Hayner can’t even begin to parse so he just raises his brows. “Well?” 

“No.” Seifer replies, oddly irritated. Hayner would call him on it, but ever since he got out of the shower Seifer’s been off so he’s decided to just ignore it. He’ll be with the others soon enough and maybe Rai or Fuu won’t be so grumpy. 

“Do you know anything about this trip?” Hayner still asks, resuming in his arm swinging as they continue on. 

“More than you.” Seifer shoots back and Hayner can’t believe he’s trying to make  _ this _ a competition too. 

“Wow. Considering this isn’t  _ my _ trip, who would have guessed that!” Hayner doesn’t completely rise to the bait, but he also doesn’t turn back to face Seifer anymore, saving his energy for the breakfast meet up that he’s sure is going to take almost all of it. Hayner manages to clap his hands three more times before Seifer’s suddenly lunging forward and snatching Hayner’s right hand with his left. 

“Stop that.” Seifer hisses quietly, yanking a bit on Hayner’s arm to punctuate his point. 

“What?” Hayner asks, momentarily stunned. 

“Swinging your arms. It’s annoying.” Seifer tightens his grasp on Hayner’s fingers and after a swift glare, marches forward, tugging Hayner along. Hayner’s still too shocked to think of any quick reply, but as they move on, he eyes their joined hands, curious. He debates on several replies before swinging their now joined hands to softly whack Seifer’s side. 

“You could have just said you wanted to hold my hand.” Seifer stops and turns with a sharp look, and Hayner feels the other man’s hesitation in his hands, so he takes advantage of Seifer loosening his grip to, in a much more gentle fashion, intertwine their fingers. “Although, to be honest, you kind of suck at it.” 

All Hayner gets in reply is another one of Seifer’s infamous glowers, so he moves to watch their surroundings instead, unfortunately missing the soft pink that slowly flushes his partner’s face. 

* * *

“They’re here!” Is the loud cheer that greets them when Hayner and Seifer finally make their way into the restaurant. It’s nothing more than a collection of tables and barstools several feet off of the pool’s edge, and it’s surprisingly quiet, with only a few other pairs seated underneath the tropical inspired verandas. 

Yuffie is half standing on her stool, enthusiastically waving at them from the group’s spot at the far edge of the restaurant. They’re the last to arrive, due in part to Hayner getting distracted by the fish in the aquarium and leading them down the wrong path twice, but Hayner had soothed Seifer’s annoyance with this by reminding him they had been early yesterday so this is their rightful payback. Hayner gives his own loose wave when Seifer releases his hand to lead them through the chairs. 

“What took ya so long?” Yuffie chirps as they seat themselves near Aerith and Tifa at the end of the table. 

“I got distracted.” Hayner explains with a brief laugh and a shrug. Aerith looks amused while Yuffie huffs and gives a short complaint that’s easily forgotten when Leon distracts her with some comment about her order. 

With Yuffie’s attention elsewhere, Hayner and Seifer are given some time to look over their menus unimpeded and Hayner is only slightly distressed at all the amazing options they have, if only because he knows he won’t be able to convince Seifer to let him buy them all this time around. When he does decide on his food, however, he also leans over to quietly insist on Seifer’s order, if only so he can steal half of it. 

Once everyone’s ordered their food - and three pitchers of mimosas at Aerith’s insistence - the table quiets down and all the attention is focused on Hayner. 

“So! Hayner, is it? Tell us about yourself.” It’s the older gruff blond that Hayner weakly recalls to be named Cid who corners him this time and Hayner feels a bit like a deer in the headlights, having not expected an interrogation this quickly. Across from Cid, at the far end of the table, a small brunette woman claps her hands together. 

“We should do introductions first!” She says brightly and to the general agreement of the table. Hayner worries he won’t be able to remember half of them, but when he surveys the table, he realizes he’s already able to recognize almost everyone. When he glances back to the brunette woman who first spoke, she smiles at him. “I’m Riona!” 

She seems nice enough, after Hayner gets a proper look at her. She even gives him a small wave at his awkward head nod. 

The rest quickly follow suit, Cid, Leon, Cloud, even Rai and Fuu. Both of whom Hayner makes sure to give a very dramatic handshake - they’re sitting across from them at the table - as he says, “It’s  _ very _ nice to meet you. For the very first time. Ever.”

Under normal circumstances, he’s sure they would have taken offence at his words, but he gives them a bright grin to indicate he’s only having fun, and Rai returns it with a wide smile and a bellowing laugh. Even Fuu gives him an amused smirk. They both have frighteningly powerful handshakes and Hayner wonders if they’ve always been like that, or if all this restoration work had only added to the previous muscle mass. He’s not given too much time to contemplate this, as Aerith catches his attention with a handshake of her own. (Tifa just nods.) 

The last to greet him looks like he’s straight out of the medieval ages and Hayner can hear Seifer snickering behind him when the man pulls himself into view, a tall pointed hat shifting back and forth on his head although never falling off, as if by magic. Hayner’s eyes widen and he turns briefly to look at Seifer for confirmation he is actually see what he’s seeing, and all the man does is grin at him. 

"Yes, hello, young man, I am Merlin, one of the senior members of the committee.” He has an old fashioned sound to his voice that brings up the oddest feelings of nostalgia in Hayner, despite knowing he’s never met this man or anyone like him in his life. For once, Hayner’s glad for Yuffie’s boisterous attitude as she huffs at the older man seated across from her, relieving Hayner of any response he is expected to give. 

“Only cause you’re a senior in general!” 

“Well, I never—!” 

He’s quickly drowned out by Aerith’s delighted shout when the mimosa pitchers arrive, although he continues to blather on, evidently unperturbed by no one giving him the time of day. It’s only when everyone has a drink in hand that Merlin is forced to stop, Yuffie shushing him so she can give a toast. 

“To the Restoration Committee!” She cheers as everyone reaches forward to clink as many glasses as they could with more subdued sounds of excitement. After they all take a small drink, she adds, as an afterthought, “Oh, yes, and the committee’s partners.” 

Hayner can’t help the laugh that bubbles from him as he raises his glass one more time in Yuffie’s direction. 

“Thank you. I love feeling included.” Tifa joins his laugh and makes sure to reach her glass over to clink it against his. 

For a couple seconds, it seems as though they’ll move onto a more general topic of discussion, but Yuffie has priorities and she’s quickly leaning forward in her seat and demanding Hayner’s attention, taking over Cid’s earlier investigation.

“So! Hayner! Tell us about yourself!” They all turn to him and Hayner’s left to flounder. 

“Why do I have to? Ask Cloud to talk about himself!” He’s slightly annoyed with everyone’s fascination with him, but mostly flustered. He’s also hoping to avoid as much discussion about his and Seifer’s… relationship. A hard task, seeing as it’s the whole reason he’s even there. 

“I already know Cloud!” Yuffies responds, frowning at him. 

“I don’t!” Hayner argues and Aerith frowns at Seifer. 

“Seifer, did you tell Hayner anything about us?”

“I did, he just doesn’t listen.” Seifer replies cooly, taking another drink from his glass. 

“I do too! Y-You just never use names! All I get is, “My coworker this” and “my coworker that”.” Hayner lies as smoothly as he can, which isn’t terribly smooth, but it goes over well, with the group giving him a pitying look.

“We’re just curious.” Aerith says, trying to soothe him. “Everyone here has known each other for a long time, so we’re excited to meet someone new, that’s all.”

Hayner understands, of course, doing the same thing to almost every new person that crosses his path, but he’s not very experienced in  _ being _ the newbie. He’s known nearly ninety percent of the people in his life since childhood, when introductions were simple and practically scripted. Glancing around the table, he sees everyone is waiting for him, so he gives in with a put upon sigh and falls back into his chair, crossing his arms in an instinctive and protective motion. 

“Hello, I’m Hayner Chase. I’m twenty-two. I like Struggle and going to the beach. I’m from Twilight Town and currently trying to finish up my undergrad for Kinesiology at Twilight Town University.” Hayner pauses here, trying to think of more facts about himself, when he catches Seifer’s look of disbelief. “What?” 

“You’re a kinesiology major?” Seifer asks, bewildered, but also a little impressed. Hayner would take offence if he wasn’t used to seeing that look on every other face of the people he told this too. Hayner’s disinterest in school had been well known when he was a teenager, which led most people to believe he didn’t do well in it. In truth, Hayner did quite well, but mostly in the classes he cared about, excelling primarily in the sciences over literature or history classes. 

“Yeah. Have been for years. You didn’t know?” Hayner’s properly offended at this, but more upset, which is something he tries to hide. He kept up with Seifer’s life! … Mostly. “Do you listen to anything  _ I _ say?” 

Seifer’s expression reverts back to its usual low key smirk and he lightly flicks Hayner’s forehead which Hayner belatedly swats at with a scowl. 

“Kinesiology? That’s incredible!” Aerith says, bringing his attention back to the group. “What are you planning on doing with it? Do you know?” 

“What IS kinesiology? It’s a science thing, right?” Yuffie breaks in before Hayner can answer Aerith’s question, but he just laughs, as this is something he’s much better at explaining. 

“Kinesiology is the study of body movement. I’m looking to do my Master of Kinesiology as soon as I graduate with my bachelors, but I think I have a couple more semesters before I can do it. I know I want to work with athletes though, and focus on Struggle if I can.” 

Hayner gets some words of admiration from the group at this, before the conversation slowly, and thankfully, moves on, him no longer being the centre focus. It’s surprisingly easy to relax into the group when given the room too, and it’s not long until he’s actively taking part instead of trying to duck out of view. Seifer, predictably, sticks to talking primarily to Rai and Fuu, only joining the main conversation to make some sort of quip, usually at Hayner’s expense. 

When the food arrives, Hayner immediately eyes Seifer’s with a look of utmost envy. While he had ordered an omelette that had looked good at the time, he had made Seifer order an eggs benedict, with hash browns, of course, which was now looking  _ much _ better than his plain old dish. Seifer, evidently being is a very rare and hospitable mood, gives a dramatic roll of his eyes before switching their plates, much to Hayner’s absolute delight. 

“You two are childhood friends, right?” Aerith asks suddenly, as everyone begins to dig in. 

“Childhood rivals.” Hayner corrects, mouth full of potato, to Seifer’s chagrin and disgust. Hayner’s quickly swatted under the table and “quietly” told to stop talking with his mouth full. Hayner makes a face, but he does comply, swallowing his food before he continues. “We’ve known each other since kids, but we spent most of it arguing or beating each other up.”

“Romantic.” Cloud says, joining the conversation for the first time. (And most likely the last.) There’s a small snicker that crosses the table but when it dissipates, Riona tilts her head in a curious fashion. 

“What changed?” She asks. 

“We started holding hands?”

Seifer properly whacks him for this and Hayner scowls back. He mentally tries to tell Seifer to take over if he has a problem with how Hayner’s handling all the questions, but Seifer, alas, is not as bright as Hayner, and misses the message completely.

"He asked you out first, right?" This time it’s Leon who interjects, surprising Hayner, and breaking him and Seifer out of their mini glaring contest.

"Yeah," Hayner says, briefly wondering how he knew this. "I thought he was joking at first."

He half keeps to the truth, a tip from Olette to help keep the lie running smoothly. 

"Really?" Yuffie laughs. "Why?"

"It was kind of out of the blue. One day we're rivals, the next he's asking me out. Took a couple seconds to clue in he was serious. He's not the best at the whole 'wooing' thing."

This gets Hayner a few more laughs from the table, and when he turns to grin at Seifer, the man seems indifferent, focused more on his food than the company. His expression appears cool, but when Hayner looks a bit more closely he can see there's a light dusting of pink across Seifer’s face.

"You mean beating someone up isn't wooing? ‘Look how well I can hit you with a struggle bat! Date me!’” Yuffie says, her voice a mocking mimicry of Seifer’s deeper one. Her expression isn’t malicious though, so Hayner laughs before Seifer finally decides to jump in.

"You can't say shit seeing as it worked." Seifer “reminds” him, forcefully jabbing his fork in Hayner’s direction.

"That just means I have strange taste in men, something you should be thankful for."

"How did your friends react?" Tifa asks, before Seifer can argue, and Hayner mulls over the question.

"Surprised, at first, but they got over it pretty quick." Too quick if you asked Hayner. "They pretty much went, 'guess the rumours were right' and moved on with their lives."

"Rumours?" Three people ask at once, one of them being Seifer, his fork knocking across his plate loudly. Hayner gives him a puzzled stare. 

"Did you never hear them? Since we fought so much there were all sorts of rumours that we secretly had a thing for each other." Hayner shrugs it off, trying to play it cool, but he can see the irritation building in Seifer. The subtle, repetitive tap of his fingers and the hint of a scowl beginning to mar his face. It’s an expression Hayner knows all too well, as he’s often the one causing it, but it’s not what he’s looking for at this moment so he moves to distract the rest of the table. He’s tired of discussing his love life anyways. 

“It’s not that big a deal. It was years ago anyways.” Hayner says, but the tapping continues, with Seifer’s gaze focusing on a speck on his plate, so Hayner turns to Aerith. “How did you and Tifa get together?”

He’s sure she recognizes what he’s doing, but she’s more than willingly to play along. Although, Hayner quickly learns this is due to her being  _ more _ than happy to constantly discuss her love life. It’s cute, mostly, and Hayner gets a better understanding of the rest of the table’s relationships as it seems almost half of them were caught up in their “love affair” at one point. 

“So, what, you all just went through eight different pairings before ending up with this one?” Hayner asks, waving his hand in the direction of the two other couples at the table. 

“Pretty much.” Aerith replies, laughing brightly. Across the table, Leon and Cloud look slightly sheepish. 

“Wild.” Is all Hayner can think of to say, grinning when it causes Yuffie to burst out laughing. 

“That’s definitely one way to put it!” 

As their breakfast continues, routinely interrupted by new stories or inquiries or people accidentally knocking over an entire pitcher of mimosas, the restaurant slowly fills with more people and ambient chatter. The sun having finally warmed enough to wake the rest of the hotel. Yuffie is the one to decide, in her usual exuberant manner, breakfast complete and “The Games” imminent, demanding everyone go get ready so they could claim the spot they needed. 

Due to their earlier preparedness, Hayner and Seifer are soon left to their own devices, Hayner waving to the retreating crowd being pushed forward so they could retrieve their swim gear. Neither of the two left make any quick movements for the pool, neither really knowing where they need to go, and Hayner wanting several seconds to breathe. 

Hayner turns to face Seifer with a long exhale, spinning in his seat, and is no longer surprised to see the other scrolling through his phone. Hayner isn’t sure what he has on it, but he’s not terribly interested. Seifer wouldn’t tell him anyways.

It's odd. There's no one to perform for, but it's only then Hayner feels comfortable enough to actually lean in and be physical with Seifer. Perhaps it's the lack of eyes or expectations. Perhaps it's Hayner's innate need for physical affection. Regardless, he hardly feels out of place at all as he relaxes his head onto Seifer's shoulder, letting out a pleased hum as he watches the other guests filter in. 

He feels Seifer tense briefly, not expecting the sudden contact, but he relaxes soon enough, his muscles only twitching when he pauses to type on his phone. 

"You know," Hayner starts, continuing only when he feels Seifer pause. “If we're dating now, you can't get so annoyed people thought we were when we were younger."

“It doesn’t matter what we are now, it’s still annoying. And none of their business.” Seifer responds, a low and irritated edge to his voice. 

Hayner mumbles a quick agreement - he never understood people’s fascination with lives outside of their own circle anyways - and resumes his people watching. They’re mostly older couples, as Hayner can only assume the hotel is too pricey for most kids his age. There’s a few that give him and Seifer a sour look, but Hayner returns it with his own glower that turns them away. 

"It never bothered you?” Seifer asks, rather abruptly, stirring Hayner from the daze he was slowly falling into. After shifting slightly to try and read Seifer’s facial expression, Hayner gives a drawn out hum, settling back onto the other’s shoulder. 

"Not really. It was annoying, yeah, but I knew what we were so I didn't really care what others thought."

Silence. But it doesn’t feel heavy so Hayner’s unbothered by the wait, Seifer’s voice coming in eventually, with an almost gentle emotion attached to it. 

"You have an odd sort of confidence, Chickenwuss. You know that?"

Hayner turns his head fully so he can actually see Seifer and grins, his chin digging into the Seifer’s shoulder. 

"Is that why you like me so much?"

Seifer doesn't deny it, only smiling a bit before returning to his phone and Hayner's left with the same flustered feeling he had the last time Seifer had smiled at him. He’s not sure how he feels about it and he’s not given any time to think, Seifer suddenly hopping down from his chair, causing Hayner to almost faceplant as nearly all his weight had been on the other man. 

“Oi! Give a guy some warning, yeah?!” Hayner shouts at Seifer’s retreating form, not needing to even hear his laughter, as he could see it in the shake of the other’s shoulders. 

“The bullshit I gotta put up with.” Hayner mutters to himself before grabbing his backpack and rushing after Seifer, several words of “polite” encouragement for him to “wait” echoing lightly through the restaurant. 

Seifer, naturally, doesn’t listen at all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yuffie somehow becomes a pretty major character in this fic and I have no idea how I managed that. 
> 
> This chapter is (much?) shorter, as day two and three are split into two more manageable chunks. 
> 
> This is unbeta'd! I will tell you when that changes. 
> 
> I am quite sleepy but the group chats continue to be my favourite part. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!!! Thanks again for all your comments ;v;


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2, part 2

“The Games” turn out to be more akin to Team Bonding exercises than anything else. Hayner quickly learns that he’s not the only one with a strong competitive side. (He nearly brawls Yuffie - mostly in good fun - and he and Fuu almost kill Cloud, on accident, via a badly timed tackle.) For most of the events he’s paired up with Seifer, something he laments about as he’s much more familiar with competing  _ against _ him, not  _ with  _ him.

Although, they still find many ways to one up each other, despite being on the same team. 

The final event is a three-legged race, and Hayner’s not too sure he has any desire to get that up close and personal with his fake boyfriend, his stupid heart having fluttered too many times at Seifer’s cocky grin whenever they won an event, so he swiftly moves to try and abandon the whole thing all together. 

“You know,” Hayner starts, his tone apparently setting off some warning bells in Seifer as the man immediately throws him a suspicious look. “If these are  _ team  _ bonding exercises, shouldn’t it just be Restoration Committee? I mean, we’re already dating… Do we really need to do  _ more _ bonding?” 

“You’re just trying to get out of the race ‘cause you suck at this event.” Seifer scowls, lightly hitting him with the rope they were meant to tie their legs together with. His accusation isn’t too far from the truth, it is Hayner’s worst event, but Hayner couldn’t let him have the satisfaction of that. 

“I do not! I could kick your ass at it any day of the week!” Seifer gives him a look that says anything  _ but  _ “I believe you” but Hayner’s unable to say anything more, Aerith piping in her own agreement. 

“Hayner has a good point! We’ve all been working with people we already get along with, so let’s try something new! It’ll be fun!” 

Hayner’s pride at getting out of one predicament is quickly replaced by regret when Tifa stands beside him and grins. While he’s not unhappy with the pairing, she’s very much a wonderful person, he’s still nervous. He’s not sure how much damage she can do with her fists, and he doesn’t particularly care to find out, remembering just how casually Cloud had mentioned her once lifting a_ car_. 

The others are also paired off and both he and Tifa share a brief snicker together when Seifer and Leon square down against each other, rope in hand, being forced to work together by a mischievous and smirking Yuffie. She is then stuck with Cid, and her smirk drops instantly. 

Fuu is left with Merlin to help judge, Merlin being a bit too old to properly compete, while Rai teams up with Aerith and Cloud works with Riona. There’s a brief hesitation that Aerith’s group seems to share at this, but it passes when Cloud silently offers the rope to Riona, and she visibly relaxes, smiling as she takes it to tie their legs together. 

Soon they’re all ready to go, and as soon as Fuu’s voice pierces through the air with a sharp, “GO!” Hayner promptly trips over his own feet, causing both he and Tifa to spend a good fifteen seconds laughing. As they try to stand him back up most of the teams press forward. The only other team to stall at the starting line is Seifer and Leon, neither willing to let the other lead. It’s only when they notice Tifa and Hayner finally managing to stumble forward a few steps, that they silently link arms and march forward with a frightening level of synchronicity. 

“Holy  _ shit _ .” Hayner whispers softly as they fly past them. He’s proud, in a weird way, but he and Tifa realize at the same time they’re now poised to place dead last, and Hayner learns her refusal to lose is on par with his. He’s about to tell her the almighty Secret to winning these races, when an arm is looping around his waist and he’s being lifted right off the ground. Tifa clutches him to her side, and before Hayner can even voice a noise of surprise, she’s  _ sprinting _ for the finish line, Hayner hanging, rather uselessly, at her side. 

There’s several squawks of astonishment when the pair darts past the other competitors, Yuffie even shouting, “Isn’t that  _ cheating _ ?” but they’re practically unmatched, and when they close in on the finish line, Seifer and Leon are the ones to meet them there. Seifer and Tifa share a sharp look and the three with feet properly on the ground immediately pick up their pace, no one willing to accept second place. 

It’s a close call, with the two pairs being too close together for Merlin to really see who actually crosses the finish line first. His call isn’t aided by Tifa practically tossing Hayner over the line, in a last ditch effort to claim first place for their own, resulting in the two of them being hurled towards the ground and getting quite tangled. 

“Wi-winner?!” Merlin cries out, confused, as Tifa and Hayner erupt in a mass of laughter, Seifer and Leon looking on, just as breathless. 

The other pairs trickle in, Aerith and Rai arriving last, and it’s only then that Hayner and Tifa manage to subdue their laughter and work on detangling their legs to try and sit up. 

“Who won?” Yuffie demands, her gaze jumping between nearly everyone in the group. 

“Uh, well..” Merlin starts, unsure of the true winner. 

“We did!” Hayner chirps, pumping his fist in the air. Both Leon and Seifer huff at him, crossing their arms at the same time. 

“You cheated.” Leon says decisively, to Tifa’s amusement. 

“Only a little. Besides, where in the rules does it say you  _ can’t _ carry your partner?” Tifa grins up at him, slowly unwinding the rope from around her and Hayner’s leg. 

“You’re just mad we were more creative than you.” Hayner adds, sticking his tongue out at Seifer, who had leaned down to do the same thing as Tifa. 

“Only because you suck too much to do it properly.” Seifer snipes back, his tone falling too much into actual anger than playful banter. Beside him, Hayner notices Tifa begin to frown and the others in the group share some awkward looks. At first, Hayner isn’t sure what they’re so worried about, this is hardly anywhere near a full blown fight for him and Seifer. Those were when  _ both _ parties were properly pissed. This is just a… kerfuffle. 

However, when Aerith’s lip purse briefly, an obvious sign of disapproval, Olette’s warning about brawling runs through his head. 

Forcing himself to keep an overly relaxed posture, Hayner decides to concede the fight. As much as he would love to continue with it, he doesn’t like the air that’s brewing, and besides, he could always bring it up again when he and Seifer were alone. If they haven’t started another one by then. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Hayner says, waving his hand dismissively. “Fine, you guys won the actual race. But we were still more creative.” 

Seifer continues to glare at him, but Tifa’s butting in before he can say anything. 

“I’ll agree to that!” She cheers, voice too loud, unraveling the rope and standing. Seifer, perhaps sensing earlier brewed tension as well, huffs out some sort of comment, but doesn’t push the subject anymore. He only fully relaxes when several of the others congratulate him and compliment his and Leon’s teamwork. 

Hayner ignores the group for a bit, sprawling across the grass on his back, and letting the sunshine gently warm his skin. With the time he’s spent outside today, he’s sure his freckles are going to start to dotting his face again and a happiness bubbles up in him at this thought. Freckles meant summer was coming, and summer had always been his favourite season. He’s interrupted from his daydreams by a shoe gently nudging his shoulder and he opens his eyes, expecting Seifer. 

Tifa stares back at him instead. 

“Ready to go? Cid says he has something special set up for our final game!” 

Hayner nods, stretches, and pulls himself into a seating position. He smiles at Tifa’s offered hand and becomes startled when he realizes they’re the final two. 

“Everyone already head out?” He asks, spinning a bit to try and locate the others. 

“Yeah,” Tifa confirms with a chuckle. “You were too happy enjoying the sunshine to notice.” 

There’s not much to argue there, so Hayner just gives her a “what are you gonna do” shrug before starting forward. She grabs his arm almost immediately. 

“You’re… okay, right?” She asks. Her concern is quiet, tentative, and completely out of left field, in Hayner’s opinion. He stares at her blankly, sifting through all the possible things she could be referring to, before landing on what he believes she’s talking about and laughing. 

“Oh! From being tossed? Yeah, I’m fine! Don’t worry about it. It was pretty funny.” He grins, hoping to settle her worry with that. He misses his mark, and her frown grows a little deeper. 

“No, although I am glad to hear that, I meant… With Seifer.” There’s a hidden meaning to her words, an edge that Hayner doesn’t like. He feels it prick at his skin, his blood growing hot. Sparking a flame he knows he can’t quell easily. 

He’s heard this tone before, countless times in fact. He knows this look, this particular brand of judgment. It’s one he’s faced before, but more often than not, it’s one that arises whenever people dared to bring up Seifer with him.

An expectation of his agreement.

“We’re fine.” He says stiffly, his hands balling into fists at his side. There’s a variety of sentences that flicker in Hayner’s head, but none of them are able to form properly in his irritation. “That’s just… how we are with each other.” 

Hayner doesn’t like other people breaking in with the opinions in regards to his relationship with Seifer. Even before this. Their relationship is messy and perhaps a bit too violent at times, but there is still a bond there. A weird sort of connection. “More to it than meets the eye.” As Olette once commented. 

Seifer could be cruel, but he never turned down any serious request for help. From anyone. Seifer could be crass, but he was also incredibly devoted. He could be violent, but he never started an altercation with someone who couldn’t fight. Never harming Olette, despite the numerous times both groups had gone at each other. 

Later, Hayner will think back and recognize most people would be off-put at encountering the more aggressive side of the two of them for the first time, but for now, a protectiveness in him grows and he’s firmly meeting Tifa’s eyes. 

“There’s no need for you to get involved.” 

She seems surprised at Hayner’s conviction and, honestly, Hayner is surprised with himself as well. He hadn’t realized how strongly he felt about his relationship with Seifer, pseudo-romantic or otherwise. Tifa realizes she’s overstepped, at the very least, and offers a soft apology and a smile. Hayner’s too awkward to refuse it, so they both shuffle forward with a nervous laugh and try to put the whole thing behind them. 

It’s made easier when they close in on the game’s meeting ground, and Yuffie’s calling them out for taking so long. 

The warmth of the sun Hayner had been enjoying has turned hot, aggravating the thrum beneath his skin. He knows Tifa meant no harm, but the agitation she incited is hard to shake off. He manages a smile when they part, Seifer and Aerith being on opposing sides of the next meeting ground, and even lifts his hand in a wave, but he can feel his pulse, too loud in his ears, too loud within his body. 

When Hayner finds himself back at Seifer’s side, he reaches out to grab and swing the elder’s arm. Seifer gives him a curious look, that carries a hint of suspicion, but Hayner ignores that and shrugs in way of explanation, continuing with the motions. The familiarity is calming and he has the oddest desire to prove something. 

“A’ight, lazeabouts! Time for the final game!" Cid’s voice booms across the small field. Seifer finally steals his arm back, bringing it up to gently tug down on Hayner’s head. A quiet act of comfort. The quiet chatter that had started due to impatience halts immediately. Cid’s grin goes wide at the attention. “Get ready for… The Couple’s Quiz!” 

He pushes the screen that stands behind him, revealing what looks to be an obstacle course. There’s various sounds of confusion as the group takes the whole thing in and Cid just laughs, happy to take his time before explaining. 

It’s a two person event, obviously, with each partner taking one specific role. One would sit near the beginning of the course, a small whiteboard in hand, and answer trivia questions about their partner, who would write the answer to any questions on their own board.  _ Then _ , the partner not answering any questions, would have to complete some sort of physical challenge. If the couple gets the question right, they receive a single point. If they get through the physical challenge, they would also receive a single point. However, if they got both the questions right and completed the physical challenge, they would receive  _ three _ points, giving them a firm edge on the competition. There would be ten questions, and ten challenges. The couple with the most at the end would be deemed the winner.

“Easy, right?” Cid asks after explaining. “Obviously, only the couples can compete—“ “No fair!” “—So, everyone come up to the start and figure out who is gonna be on what! Ya ain’t switching half way through unless someone gets hurt!” 

Yuffie immediately jumps at Cid, demanding her and Riona at least get a  _ shot _ , while the other pairings slowly meander forward, quietly discussing their strategy. 

“I’ll do the trivia.” Hayner says immediately with an overly serious nod. He’s relaxed now, the rushing of his pulse now related to the excitement of a challenge. A feeling he’s much more equipped to handle. They’re at the starting point, so Hayner looks for the small white board to claim as his own.

“Just gonna leave me to do all the hard work there, Chickenwuss?” Seifer replies, cocking in head in what’s almost a threat. Hayner gives him a blank look. 

“When’s my birthday?” He asks, unimpressed. Seifer’s expression falters slightly, but he covers up any hesitation with a scowl and a huff.

“… April 16th.” He says, rather confident despite a brief pause. 

“No. You managed to mix up both Roxas and Olette’s with that. I’m doing trivia.” Seifer still looks annoyed, so Hayner tries to sweeten the pot. Or annoy him. He’s fine with either result. “What? I thought you liked showing off all your muscles. We’re near the pool, you know, you’ll probably gain like five new groupies.” 

It’s an odd compliment, the closest either of them really give one another, but it works. When Seifer leans into him, a small smirk pulling at his mouth, Hayner has to lean back, his breath hitching at the proximity.

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous.” Seifer grins, snickering when Hayner flushes slightly and swats at him. 

“Do you want to win? I can just throw the competition. Tell them your birthday is, what? November.. 27th!” Hayner’s brain is too hardwired to Seifer’s actual birthday, and so is terribly at thinking of anything too far from it. Despite the random date, Seifer stares back at him, wide eyed. 

“That’s Fuu’s.” He says, stunned. Hayner’s own expression quickly mirrors him.

“Really? Holy shit.” 

“Are you a walking encyclopedia of birthdays? What the fuck?” 

“I’m just good at dates! All right?! Now go away! Go stand with the other muscle-heads!” Hayner gives him a firm shove forward, ignoring the sound of protest his boyfriend gives. There’s no obvious bite anyways, and Seifer soon joins Fuu, Cloud, Yuffie (who had successfully convinced Cid to let her play) and Tifa, in the waiting area for the physical challenges. Beside Hayner, the others place themselves on the spots marked out and grab their whiteboard as well. When everyone is settled, Cid speaks up again. 

“All right, we’re gonna start it off nice and easy for all of ya!” Cid booms from the far corner. Merlin is beside him, reclining in a lounge chair with some sort of fruity cocktail in hand, hiding from the sun rays with a large umbrella, and apparently the world in general with dark shades. He looks rather ridiculous, especially in the terribly bright tropical pattern shirt he insists on wearing, but he doesn’t seem to mind at all. Hayner’s almost jealous, as he’d much rather be in Merlin’s position than his own. “First question is… What was your partner’s G.P.A when they were in grade eight!” 

Silence. 

Hayner begins to wrack his brain, desperate to find any sort of clue in his memories related to Seifer’s studies. He’s ten seconds into trying to remember what was even going on when Seifer was in grade eight when Cid’s laugh is thundering across the field and everyone’s head snapping back to him.

“Just kidding! You think I cared enough to go looking for  _ that _ ?” The group erupts in irritated chatter, but Cid waves them off. “First question: when is your partner’s birthday?” 

Hayner doesn’t even pause before scrawling out  _ December 22nd _ on his white board and waiting for the others to finish. He finishes before  _ Seifer _ and Hayner can’t help but laugh when the other looks up and notices this as well. The whole group passes this question, even the non-couple to Yuffie’s delighted cheers, and the physical challenge isn’t too much trouble either, with the entire group passing that as well. 

The questions are typical, things like  _ how does your partner take their coffee _ (Hayner scribbles  _ with sugar cause he doesn’t want people to know he doesn’t drink it black  _ and beams back at Seifer’s forced smile when he holds up his own whiteboard confirming the first half of Hayner’s sentence) and  _ how many bones has your partner broken  _ (only one. His nose. Hayner’s broken seven.) but slowly grow in difficulty.

Hayner pauses at one of the middle questions, “Outside of work, what’s something your partner considers themselves naturally talented at?” as there’s a variety of responses that come to mind, but none that feel  _ right.  _ Struggle would be everyone’s obvious choice, but Hayner knows the amount of time Seifer’s put into his Struggle form and knows the other is  _ proud _ of that work. To dismiss it with “natural talent” feels off. Roxas is the natural. Hayner and Seifer have always had to push. 

Hayner ends up going with  _ cooking  _ after Cid yells, “Tick tock!” at him and is pleasantly surprised when he gets this correct as well. While he hasn’t tasted Seifer’s cooking himself, he remembers Rai often giving the other loud compliments during high school. They’re five questions in, and neither Hayner or Seifer have failed yet, in either challenge, gaining a very strong lead over the others. Aerith and Tifa and Rai and Fuu are a close second, but with some distance. Rai had gotten a couple easy questions wrong, after mixing up Fuu and Seifer up, to the amusement of everyone, and Tifa had misstepped on a couple challenges as well. They knew they couldn’t stay confident in their lead for long, not with the questions being asked. 

However, as they continue, their good luck seems to as well, with Hayner able to nail every question down with surprising accuracy, considering the content. Answering  _ what’s your partner’s favourite ice cream flavour?  _ with, admittedly, a slightly cheating,  _ he doesn’t eat ice cream _ . It’s accurate, Seifer’s board saying the same, as Seifer had never had a penchant for the town’s local delicacy. But when pressured by the other’s whines, Hayner quickly writes  _ mango  _ and is correct once more. 

The group raises some protest again when they’re asked  _ which parent does your partner think they’re more like? _ and Hayner replies  _ neither _ . For anyone without knowledge of Seifer’s past, it does seem like a con. But when the group huffs at him, Hayner swings his hand wide to Seifer’s board that reveals  _ never knew them  _ and the protests stop. 

The final question arrives with Hayner and Seifer  _ still _ in the lead after not failing in a single challenge and Hayner feels the pressure. While he’s pretty positive they’ll win regardless, they’ve gone too long without a loss for him to want to fail  _ now.  _ They were at the end! They had to do it perfectly! When Hayner glances up, before the question is called, he can see Seifer feels the same. 

“Here it is! The last question and the final chance for any of you to try and at least get second place!” Hayner and Seifer share a quick smirk at their guaranteed victory as Cid continues. “Here goes: what was your partner’s first words!” 

Hayner’s smirk drops immediately. He didn’t know Seifer  _ that  _ well! 

There’s obvious panic that starts to emanate from him, Hayner is sure, with his anxious finger tapping and his eyes unable to stay in one spot. He wonders, briefly, if Seifer even knew his first word, but also figures the other wouldn’t let them get away with another non-answer, no matter how accurate. 

He hears Cid call the time, and Hayner decides to throw everything to the wind and quickly scribbles  _ STRUGGLE _ in all capitals before dropping his pen at Cid’s command with a groan. So much for their perfect score. 

When Cid calls for the answers, Hayner spins his board and keeps his eyes closing, waiting for the other’s cheer at his team first incorrect answer. He weakly tries to reassure himself that at least they were more likely to buy him and Seifer as a real couple, when Cid’s voice is cutting through his thoughts with, “Hayner is correct! Seifer, you don’t have to do the final challenge, as you two brats are winning no matter what!” 

Hayner’s head snaps up, eyes blown wide as he stares down the field to Cid, who has moved on to check the other answers, before switching his gaze to Seifer standing across from him, who has a smug smirk plastered on his face with the word  _ struggle  _ printed neatly in the middle of his board. A small laugh of disbelief bubbles from Hayner’s chest and it’s quickly overtaken by loud laughter as Hayner sprints across the field. He tosses one arm around Seifer’s neck, pulling him down in an awkward hold as Hayner cheers, “We won, we won!” to the amusement of the small audience they had attracted. 

Seifer allows this, lifting one hand to rest atop the hand still on his shoulder, with a small smile, sharing in Hayner’s delight. It’s only when Cid calls for the physical challenge competitors that Seifer unwinds Hayner’s hold on him, and his expression changes back to its usual self-satisfied look. Hayner cocks his head to the side and poses a silent question. Seifer waves him off, “Can’t let you have all the glory, can I?” and takes his place with the others. 

The final challenge entails several different moves, one of them being a walking handstand, and Hayner glowers at the crowd when a variety of cat-calls and cheers sound at Seifer’s shirt dropping and exposing his chest. A hot feeling, like acid, flows through his body, burning his veins. Jealousy, he soon pinpoints, though he can’t pinpoint the root cause. Seifer? Seifer getting attention? People flirting with Seifer when Seifer was supposed to be  _ his _ —

Hayner cuts himself off quickly, arms folded firmly across his chest as watches the game proceed, mouth in a straight line. It’s his competitive nature, he tries to reason with himself. Nothing more. 

(This doesn’t stop him from pressing himself in closer than necessary against Seifer when he passes the challenge and they’re properly named the winners. And if Seifer is puzzled by the action, he doesn’t say anything, lifting an arm instead to wrap around Hayner shoulder as the other’s move in to congratulate them.) 

Cid corrals the losers into taking down the obstacle course, to their very loud complaints, as he hands them their prize: a single dinner voucher. Hayner takes the coupon in hand, staring at it blankly while Seifer stares at Cid and raises an eyebrow. 

“You get this whole damn place for free! What more do ya want?” The older man huffs, swiping his thumb across his nose. 

Seifer considers this, recognizing the point, while Hayner says, in an unimpressed voice, “I don’t even  _ live  _ here.” 

The coupon isn’t for the hotel’s restaurant, rather for a another famous one half way across town. Aerith notices the name and coos, telling the duo with an excited voice that the place is a hot spot for couples and one of the hardest to get into. It’s actually a rather decent prize, if the winners had been anyone else. 

“But I don’t even  _ live _ here!” Hayner repeats, louder this time and with much more of a whine as his whole body takes part in the complaint, leaning back and relying more on the eye-rolling Seifer than his own feet. This catches the rest of the group’s attention, but all they do is laugh. 

“Sell it then!” Cid shouts at him, just as irritated. Seifer plucks the coupon from Hayner’s grasp before Hayner can reply, and gives the other blond a wave. 

“Thank you, Cid. I’m sure we’ll be able to use it eventually.” 

This calms the other down, although he continues to pretend he wasn’t offended by Hayner’s lack of gratitude, and Aerith grabs Hayner, saying, “If you have enough energy to whine, you have the energy to help, come on.” 

Hayner doesn’t argue, but when he tries to snatch Seifer’s hand, the other evades him masterfully. Hayner gives him an offended look as he’s dragged off, and Seifer returns it with a smirk, opening and closing his hand in a mocking wave. 

The take down is swift, the Restoration Committee showing off their abilities as a team, and the group is soon relaxing by the pool, most with their legs dangling in the warm water, others drifting by on hastily inflated floaties. 

It’s a well earned break from all the excitement of the day and Hayner lets himself bask in it, hands behind his head as he enjoys the inner tube pilfered from Yuffie. Seifer’s off to the side, drinking with Rai and Fuu, and Hayner lets himself zone in and out of their conversation, not invested enough to pipe in, but too bored to completely ignore it. He’s dragged out of his zen state when Seifer calls for him however. 

“Hayner!” Hayner jerks to attention, nearly falling off his tube. When he makes eye contact, Seifer jabs a thumb in the restaurant’s direction. “We’re going to grab something to eat, you want anything?” 

Hayner blinks slowly, unaccustomed to being taken care of like this, “Uh… fries.” he decides eventually, to the group’s amusement. 

“I want fries too!” Yuffie cheers from the Chocobo floatie she had stolen off Cloud when Hayner had taken her’s. “Please, Seifer!” 

“Are we dating?” Seifer calls back as he stands, raising his drink in Yuffie’s direction. She seems startled at the question. 

“We… could be?” She offers, giving him a cutesy smile. Hayner kicks his feet, sending a weak splash in her direction. 

“Don’t flirt with my boyfriend.” He chides, pointing a “threatening” finger at her. Yuffie quickly dissolves into an annoyed pout that’s only remedied by Riona laughing softly and getting up to follow the other three, promising Yuffie that she’d buy her fries instead. Yuffie’s mood brightens immediately and she chants the word for a few seconds, swivelling on the floating as she does, causing small waves to form. 

Realizing he probably won’t be able to eat from his tube, not if he wants the fries to end up in his belly and not the pool, Hayner attempts to flip onto his stomach in order to paddle to the edge. But when this only seems to promise him falling into the pool, he pauses and reconsiders.

“You doing okay?” Tifa calls to him from her spot under the umbrella and Hayner sends her a quick OK hand sign. He ends up awkwardly paddling himself backwards towards the pool’s edge, the inner tube just slightly too large to do it comfortably, and pulls himself onto the warm cement. A large and fluffy towel is soon draped over him, and Hayner looks up, half expecting Seifer, but it’s Aerith who smiles sweetly down at him before taking a spot next to him. 

“You haven’t put on sunscreen,” she explains as she keeps the towel over his shoulders, “I don’t want you to burn.” 

A pleased feeling bubbles in him, one that makes him duck his head with a small smile as he says his thanks. He’s not used to being fretted over quite like this, his friend’s showing their affection and concern in different ways. But he likes the feeling. 

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Aerith asks, her tone light but serious as they watch Yuffie try and convince Leon to join her in the pool. “I know we can be a little overwhelming.”

“I’m having fun,” Hayner assures her, smiling brightly. “It was a little rough in the beginning, but I’m all good now.” 

“I’m glad.” Aerith replies, her expression becoming relieved. “I’m really glad you could come. It’s been good for Seifer too, I think, having you here.” 

“Really? Why?” Hayner asks immediately. He doesn’t know what he does for Seifer besides aggravate him, so he’s thrown off guard by her admission. 

“Hm… I don’t know Seifer well, but… You seem to relax him.” 

_ What _ .

“Watching you two… you’re very aware of each other. You catch onto each other’s moods quickly and bring them down before they can transform into something ugly. Seifer can get pretty aggressive, but with you here, he’s been the calmest I’ve ever seen him. He worked with  _ Leon _ , which is something we never thought would be possible.” 

Hayner’s eyes are round when Aerith finishes, although she doesn’t turn to watch him, taking her time watching Leon’s very sudden arrival in the pool. (Cloud had pushed him.) He can feel his body growing uncomfortable, pinpricks crawling up his spine, unsure and unable to accept her words. Him?  _ Relax _ Seifer? His whole body twists as he lets out his own awkward laugh, his gaze now on his folded hands. 

“I’m not… That’s just.. Seifer just does what he needs to. He wanted to win the race, that’s all.” Hayner’s denial is weak, but he holds firm to it. Aerith turns to him, and while her eyes challenge his words, she doesn’t push it, gently patting his arm with a soft, “Okay,” instead. 

Seifer arrives not long after, with Hayner’s promised fries in tow, giving Hayner time to chew over what Aerith had said. He’s not sure how to feel about it, his instinctive reaction being to reject it in order to cling to his well-loved beliefs on Seifer. But, as he feels himself relax at Seifer’s side, the older man’s arm leaning behind the two of them in a way where they’re just barely brushing against each other, Hayner feels another part him want to let her words in. To explore them. To see what else he and Seifer could be. 

It causes him to flush a bit, a new warmth settling over him as his body tries to work off the almost overwhelming amount of emotions and energy, and Seifer considers his red face with a curious expression when he catches it. Hayner’s not given any time to wonder what he’s going to do however, as Seifer soon places a warm and firm hand on Hayner’s back, and sends him toppling into the pool. 

“You  _ prick _ !” Hayner splutters as he resurfaces, hand wiping the water from his face as he bounces lightly, keeping himself above water. 

“You were looking a little hot there, Chickadee, so I thought I better cool you down.” Seifer replies, as smug as always, and Hayner  _ hates _ how handsome he looks, leaned back and watching Hayner with a tilted head. Rai and Fuu snicker from beside him, and Hayner feels sixteen again. Well,  _ fine. _ If that’s how Seifer wanted to play, Hayner would play. 

“You’re the one who needs his head cooled off!” Hayner shouts, lunging forward and grabbing Seifer’s leg to yank him into the pool with a surprising strength. Seifer’s shout is drowned out quickly by the water, as well as Rai’s booming laugh. They erupt into a small tussle, with the other’s eventually following Rai and Fuu’s lead and egging them on. It’s hard to get any semblance of a grip, but they still manage to get a pretty good wrestle in, only stopping when Hayner accidentally inhales a good chunk of water and chokes on it. 

Seifer’s grip shifts immediately, and he catches one of Hayner’s elbows, his other hand moving to Hayner’s arm to help steady him and guide him to shallower water. When Hayner’s coughing gets under control, turning into deep gasps instead of desperate ones, Seifer smirks at him. 

“Breathe much?” he asks, and Hayner groans before pushing at him, weakly croaking, “Shut up.” but Seifer doesn’t release him, one hand again moving to gently rub Hayner’s back until his breathing is completely under control. 

“That’s what ya dummies get for fighting in the pool!” Cid scolds them. Hayner just rolls his eyes, missing the sharp glare Seifer shoots his boss. Cid is soon joining them in the water, and the grin that grows on his face is more mischievous than Hayner’s ever seen before. “Besides,  _ this _ is how you fight in a pool!” 

He reaches out and grabs Yuffie, who gives a loud shout as Cid pulls her onto his shoulders. She catches on quickly, as soon as she catches her balance, and throws her hands into the air, yelling, “Chicken fight!” 

The chaos that ensues surprises no one, and Hayner and Seifer win four out of the six rounds they take part in. Eventually, the hotel staff grow a little too concerned, and they’re “gently” encouraged to exit the pool and give others a chance to enjoy it. They don’t put up a fuss, all of them nearly collapsing into the chairs at the restaurant. 

“What should we do next?” Tifa asks, breathless but happy. Beside her, sprawled across the table, Yuffie hums in thought.

“Oh!” She says suddenly, shooting up, “What about drinking games!” 

There’s a variety of sounds that erupt at this, but most seem positive enough, which leads to the group all sitting themselves down. Hayner, who had already been sitting, jerks to attention, shooting Seifer a quick and nervous look.

Hayner… is not the  _ best _ at drinking. In fact, you could say he is terrible at it. He’s never drank with Seifer before, but he wonders if the older man remembers Hayner once drunk calling Rai to tell him how handsome he had gotten, and if that is what aids in Seifer dropping a heavy hand on Hayner’s shoulder and going, “I think we’ll opt out of this one.” 

The group expresses some rather loud and insistent denials and pleas for them to stay, but Hayner ignores them, swiftly standing to tuck himself into Seifer’s side again. 

“We’ll see you tomorrow!” Seifer tells him, effectively stopping their complaints as his voice leaves no room for any argument. “Good night.” 

They chorus the goodbye back, Hayner giving them a weak wave in lieu of actually speaking, and he practically melts into Seifer’s side when they exit into the hallway leading to the lobby. 

“Oh, thank god.” Hayner whispers softly, “I don’t think I would have survived.” 

“Not good at drinking, are you, Chickenwuss?” Seifer asks with a smirk. 

Several memories filter through Hayner’s head at the question. Of him, off key in the most aggravating way, belting an old cartoon theme song on top of a  _ moving _ tram. Of him holding Olette’s hands, crying, desperately trying to convince her of how she was the most “bestest” and greatest friend to ever exist. Of him waking up in a bush nearly two kilometres out of town with no cell phone and clothes that weren’t his own. 

With a soft sigh, he shakes his head.

“You have no idea.” 

* * *

Their evening is assuradly less exciting than Seifer’s coworkers, but Hayner’s just as pleased with it. They order room service again, and Hayner’s even compliant with Seifer, only ordering three things instead of five. They sit at the table this time, both of them catching up on emails and other things found on their phone.

The sanctuary the room provides them is as welcomed as it is needed, Hayner not realizing how exhausted he is until he practically becomes a puddle of goo sinking into the room’s loveseat after they’ve put away their plates. Seifer doesn’t bother to hide his weariness either, falling back onto the couch with a small, “Oof!” that causes Hayner to look up at him and notice the tip of his nose is burnt. 

“What do you wanna do?” Hayner asks, still melting into the chair. 

“Nothing.” Seifer sighs, leaning his head back, one hand reaching up to tug at a beanie that is no longer there. He realizes his mistake and his fingers twitch, pushing forward to run through his hair in a calming motion instead. Hayner watches this, slightly fascinated. 

“We could watch Netflix?” He offers and Seifer lets out a hum, presumably of agreement. “You’re closer to the remote.” 

Seifer doesn’t reply to this, remaining still, head tilted back and eyes closed for a few more seconds. Hayner continues to watch him, the drowsiness brought about by the sun and heat gifting him an uncharacteristic patience. Seeing Seifer in a state of contentment is new to him, and he tries to lock this moment away in his memories, so he doesn’t forget the sense of comfort it brings. 

Eventually Seifer stirs again, blinking open his eyes to search for the remote that he tosses at Hayner as soon as he clicks the T.V on. 

“Pick whatever, I don’t care.” He says, stretching his arms out before bringing them back in, one hand gently beginning to work on some knot he found in his shoulder. Hayner lets out a sound of acknowledgement, and wants to test out this offer, but he’s too tired to search for something ridiculous, and picks the first documentary he finds instead. 

It’s a nature one and the narrator’s voice almost sends Hayner to sleep. Soon the loveseat proves itself to be too uncomfortable for such a thing, and Hayner pushes himself up enough he can move to the couch, crawling forward so he can crash across both it and Seifer. The other man gives a small, “Oi!” when Hayner flops onto him, leaning back onto Seifer’s chest, but doesn’t push him off. Only shifting his arm, that hesitates briefly at Hayner’s hip. Hayner makes a show of getting comfortable, that he’s sure he gets an eyeroll for, but Seifer also relaxes, and the warmth Hayner feels at his side is pleasant. 

The intimacy is new, but familiar all at once. Their touch is not foreign, even if the position is.They take their time, relaxing into the newness of the situation, and it isn’t long before Seifer is stretching out as well and Hayner is turning to his side, still curled into Seifer.

The documentary continues, one episode blending into the next in Hayner’s peripherals as he plays through his different gatcha games. 

“Do you ever miss Twilight Town?” Hayner asks after their hometown is briefly mentioned on the show. He’s been curious about this for a while and at Seifer’s silence, he tilts his head up to watch the man who gives no sign he’s heard him. Hayner nudges him with his elbow and Seifer drop his chin into an open palm. 

“Sometimes.” He replies in time and Hayner frowns. 

“Only sometimes?”

“Wouldn’t survive out here if I missed it all the time.”

It makes sense, but it’s not what Hayner wants to hear. A small part of his always hoping Seifer would eventually come home. He makes a small, annoyed sound that catches Seifer’s attention. Tilting his head over, Seifer capture’s Hayner’s gaze. There’s a thoughtful look in his eyes and Hayner refuses to look away. 

“I guess I miss parts of it. Some parts more than others.” 

Hayner hums in response. The words  _ I miss you too _ catching in his throat. 

They decide to sleep when the episode ends, as Hayner’s nearly passed out and Seifer comments that he’s not about to carry him anywhere. After they’ve finished preparing for bed, Hayner makes a small show of flopping down and settling in on Seifer’s side. He gets whacked with a pillow for it, but only moves roughly a foot away before he’s lying back down and crawling under the covers.   


Seifer sleeps with his back to him, but his presence is already so familiar, so warm, that Hayner still finds comfort in it. Making sure he’s far enough away that he won’t get an early morning whack as a wake up call, Hayner settles in, and not longer after he notices Seifer’s breath has slowed for sleep, Hayner’s following suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I usually have so many thoughts in my head for the end notes when I write the chapters and then I go to post them and I'm just tired. 
> 
> Please enjoy!
> 
> (unbeta'd)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 3 Pt 1

Hayner and Seifer are left to their own devices the next morning and Hayner wonders if it has anything to do with the incomprehensible text messages Rai had sent them at four in the morning that seemed to indicate that not only he, but the rest of Seifer’s coworkers were still up and at ‘em. Seifer hadn’t originally stirred at his phone, only waking when a bleary eyed Hayner crawled over him to stop it from beeping. 

They spend a good hour debating their breakfast plans, lazily torn between the hotel’s restaurants, room service, or going out to find something else. Hayner ends up giving the power to his group-although Seifer is the one to text them and ask as Hayner is “too far from his phone”. It doesn’t take long before Seifer’s phone is giving a short beep and the pair is discovering a fatal flaw made by Roxas the night before. 

**Seiner 2 sent :** Decide where we should eat. Room service, hotel restaurant, or going out. 

**The Greatest Struggler sent :** ok so i know i nicknamed hay and seif seiner 1 and seiner 2 but i forgot who is who

**Absolute Sunshine sent :** Just check their number! 

**The Greatest Struggler sent :** WHY DO YOU BOTH HAVE BLAND STRUGGLE THEMED ICONS

**Absolute Sunshine sent :** Roxas! Number! Check!

**Seiner 2 sent :** You mean you can’t tell us apart? Weak. 

**The Greatest Struggler sent :** ok that has to be seifer 

Hayner - who had immediately leapt to his feet to scavenge his phone from it’s hidey hole where it had been charging upon learning of Roxas’s flaw - grins as he enters the conversation. 

**Seiner 1 sent :** Incredibly weak. 

**The Greatest Struggler sent :** MAYBE NOT? surely my best friend wouldnt insult me like that…

**Seiner 1 sent :** Really?

**Seiner 2 sent :** Wouldn’t I? 

**Hand Hook Car Door sent :** didn’t you guys mention a cafe with all the cool plants? you should go there! 

**Absolute Sunshine sent :** Oh! That sounds perfect for breakfast! ☺️ 

Pence, predictably, is unbothered by the nickname fiasco, while Olette simply knows all her friend’s numbers by heart and had never been confused in the first place. Hayner looks up at Seifer with a questioning look that Seifer shrugs his agreement too. Hayner had actually forgotten about the cafe, and Olette is right, it does sound perfect. 

**The Greatest Struggle sent :** GUYS. AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO DOESN’T KNOW ?

**Seiner 1 changed The Greatest Struggler’s nickname to Out of the Loop. **

**Seiner 1 sent :** Unfortunate. 

Breakfast is oddly idyllic - Hayner is sure to take more pictures for Pence and Olette which gives Roxas some sense of who is who - and they get a good spot to watch out over the outside pool. Clouds have moved in, creating a soft grey haze outside, and Hayner bounces his leg lightly as he considers this. 

“Do you wanna check out the inside pool after?” He asks, turning his head on the palm he has it rested in. “It looks like it’s gonna rain.” 

Hayner doesn’t like the rain. It’s not something they often get in Twilight Town so it’s not something he’s had to grow accustomed too. He likes how it looks when it’s approaching the town, something about the muted grey stretching out and claiming the usual bright yellow and oranges fascinates him. But actually being rained on? Having to deal with the damp feeling permeating his whole body? No, thank you. 

“You can. I might go check out the gym.” Hayner feels his face immediately fall into a frown. The pool was never fun by yourself. “What’s with the look?”

“Who exercises on their vacation?”

“Lots of people. It’s why they have a gym.” 

He makes a good point but Hayner refuses to give it to him. 

“It’s still dumb.” He grumbles, turning his gaze back to the rain now falling against the window at an increasing speed. Most people outside are beginning to scatter, but one man seems insistent on swimming, despite, who Hayner can only assume to be his girlfriend, waving at him to get out. Seifer considers his words for a moment before grumbling something under his breath, something Hayner doesn’t catch so he turns back to him with an obnoxious, “Huh?” 

Seifer sets him with an aggravated look. 

“I said, I thought you didn’t even want to spend this whole trip with me.” 

“Okay, first, I didn’t actually say that, you did, and second, who the fuck else am I going to hang out with? Everyone else died. It’s you and me, man!” Hayner huffs at him, crossing his arms. Seifer, as per usual, just rolls his eyes and hails the server to settle the bill. When he goes to stand, he lightly kicks at Hayner’s ankle to catch his attention. 

“Look, come with me to the gym and I’ll go with you to the pool. Alright?” Hayner doesn’t respond, staring petulantly at Seifer’s empty chair. The idea of working out with Seifer is flustering him for some stupid reason he doesn’t quite understand, but Seifer eventually gets annoyed with the silent treatment and whacks him again, this time on the shoulder. 

“No, it’s fine, go do your work out. I’ll just swim laps.” Hayner finally replies, rolling his own shoulders back before letting his head drop back as well to meet Seifer’s gaze. “I don’t feel like doing weights today.” 

Seifer looks like he’s going to say something, but thinks better of it and shrugs, “Suit yourself.” 

Hayner takes his time in following Seifer out of the cafe, not moving until he notices it starting to fill with other patrons and his server keeps throwing him hesitant looks as if she’s wondering when she can offer his table to someone else. He jumps up at that, swiftly tidying up their mess and bringing it to her with a happy, “Thank you!”

(He’s been a server before and he knows how awkward it can be waiting on people to leave.) 

When he returns to their room, he debates just crashing on the bed and playing on his phone, but knows he’d regret never taking advantage of all the amenities and forces himself to change him some swimming trunks and trudge back downstairs. The pool has several families in it, but they all keep to the more shallow end, leaving Hayner free to do some lazy laps at the other end. However, he’s a bit distracted, and when he nearly slams into the pool wall enough that _ two _ of the parents ask if he’s alright, he decides to just float on his back instead.

(One of the kids even lends him their floatie. “To make sure you don’t sink!” which is incredibly sweet, if a bit insulting.) 

He’s drifting idly in the middle when he hears someone jump into the pool but thinks nothing of it, assuming it to be one of the kids (although, there was a distinct lack of high pitched shrieking…). His relaxed mood is quickly sabotaged when someone grabs his ankle and yanks him into the pool, his shrieks quickly drowned out by the water. When Hayner resurfaces, every nerve in his body ready for a fight, he’s greeted with Seifer’s grinning face. Hayner has to take several deep breaths before he’s able to form coherent sentences. 

“You asshole!” He hisses out when he’s finally able to, whacking Seifer’s shoulder. Seifer just laughs. 

“Are you all right, dear?” One of the mothers calls out to him and both he and Seifer turn to face her. 

“I’m okay! Thank you!” Hayner calls back, giving her a short wave. She purses her lips briefly, eyeing Seifer, but he gives her his best smile and his own wave and she nods back. 

“What, you get adopted?” Seifer asks when the rest of the families go back to their own thing and the ambient noise starts echoing loudly once again. 

“I’m just that lovable. What are you doing here? I thought you were working out.”

“I was. I just finished. Decided I’d come harass you until the others woke up.” 

“I’m so thankful. Jeez, you scared the hell out of me.” Hayner whines, splashing some water at the other. 

“You looked too relaxed. I had to come scare you.” Seifer smirks, tossing one arm around the floatie to help keep himself up. Hayner eyes him briefly, still frowning, before splashing him again. Seifer takes it, turning his head only a bit to avoid the water but not moving to return it. 

They float for a bit, Hayner eventually joining him on the floatie so they can drift around the pool together in peace. Hayner mostly watches the kids playing, nostalgic for his past with his own friends, but Seifer either gets annoyed with the quiet, or decides to distract Hayner from his pensive mood and kicks at his feet. When Hayner meets his eye, Seifer raises a brow, a silent challenge. 

Whether it’s the wrestling match that gets way out of hand or the fact they manage to get a small following of tiny children trying to copy their dives when they start diving competition, Hayner isn’t sure, but they soon get enough worried looks from parents and irritated looks from lifeguards that they decide to leave before getting properly kicked out. The parents give them some muted waves while their children throw their whole body into their goodbyes, promising them they’ll practice so they could beat them next time they battled. Hayner thinks it’s adorable and while Seifer doesn’t say anything, Hayner can see the soft look in his eyes that indicates he agrees. 

Just as they get to the door and Hayner is throwing a towel over his shoulders, Seifer is suddenly tugging on his arm. 

“I want to go to the sauna, come on.” 

Hayner doesn’t have any arguments, so he doesn’t try and make one. Shrugging his agreement, he motions with his arm for Seifer to lead the way. As they make their way past the entrance and towards the other end of the pool where the sauna is located, they pass a new group entering the pool, made up of kids not far from their own age, and several of them eye Seifer with some appreciation. It’s off-putting, watching people blatantly check Seifer out, so Hayner shoots them some weird looks, resulting in them at least having the decency to appear semi-bashful as they hurry past. 

In the sauna they’re joined by a few guests spattered across the seating area. Hayner and Seifer take a spot closer to the door and while Seifer immediately relaxes, Hayner sits himself up, elbow on knee with his chin resting on his fist as he tries to steal discreet glances at his “boyfriend”. He rarely sees Seifer as anything more than an annoyance and so he realizes, with some awkwardness, he had forgotten that, for all intensive purposes, Seifer is rather attractive. He takes good care of himself and has been athletic for most, if not all, of his life, resulting in some, well… _ nice _ muscles. 

Glaring forward, Hayner curses the flip flops that start in his stomach and when he notices Seifer shift, perhaps about to start a conversation, Hayner suddenly turns and strikes up a random discussion with the man next to him. He’s also around their age and introduces himself, although Hayner quickly forgets his name, and they end up getting way too involved in an argument over Struggle when the man proves himself to be totally ignorant of the simple joys of it. 

He’s just about to absolutely demolish the guy with his Struggle knowledge when Seifer interrupts, dragging him up by the arm. 

“What?” Hayner asks with a scowl after looking between Seifer’s hold on him and the man himself with some confusion. 

“You’re being annoying. Let’s go.” Seifer replies, voice tight. 

“What? But he’s-!” Hayner doesn’t get a chance to finish before Seifer is hauling him outside without any more warning. Hayner makes sure to whine a bit, putting some distance between them as he rubs at the spot Seifer had grabbed him as soon as he’s released. But, he hadn’t been too invested in the sauna anyways so it doesn’t last long. He’s also quickly distracted, from both Seifer’s strange behaviour and the weird stunts his stomach is pulling, as he rediscovers the spa and immediately latches onto Seifer’s arm. 

“We gotta go.” 

Surprisingly, besides giving Hayner an odd look, Seifer doesn’t argue and soon Hayner is trying not to lose it in the tranquil atmosphere of the spa. It reeks of “class” and entitlement and an unnecessary amount of incense. If the workers had been surprised by the two of them arriving looking like gym buffs and asking for the daily special, they didn’t show it, happily leading the two of them to the lounge room. That was twenty minutes ago, and now Seifer is in a mud mask and it’s probably the funniest thing Hayner’s ever seen in his life. 

“You look beautiful.” Hayner tells him with a barely suppressed grin.

“Covered in mud and I still look better than you.” Seifer replies casually, leaning back into his chair without a care in the world. Hayner continues to snicker at him for a couple more seconds, ignoring the fact he must look just as ridiculous, before leaning back as well and closing his own eyes. 

It’s mid-afternoon by the time they finish up, the workers having tried valiantly for them to try many other different services, and Hayner swears he’s never felt more shiny in his life. 

“I need to do more facemasks with Olette,” Hayner says with wonder, “I’ve never felt so clean!” 

Thankfully, before Seifer can get out any sort of comment, his phone is going off and they’re both pleased to learn the rest of the group is finally alive. 

“Dinner’s been moved to 7:30.” Seifer informs him, pocketing his phone. “So everyone else can have more time to try and pretend they’re human.” 

“Excellent. You wanna grab some room service and chill in the room before we get ready? I don’t know what else we can do. Last time we went to that shopping centre I felt my soul leave my body at those prices.” It had seemed to be more women’s fashion centric anyways, although Hayner had eyed a few of the watches appreciatively. Too bad they’d take six months of saving, and that was IF he stopped himself from buying new games in that time. Oh well… “I think the hotel has some lunch set. If we hurry, we could probably still get it.” 

Seifer’s weirdly agreeable streak continues and they manage to avoid any sort of conflict until about six, when Seifer starts to make motions for them to get ready. Hayner argues they still have time, neither of them needing do anything like their makeup or what have you, so why CAN’T he start another episode of the documentary? 

“Just watch it after you’re done,” Seifer says, with all the patience of a man feeling like he’s dealing with a five year old. Hayner huffs back. (In true five year old fashion.)

“It’ll take me like, five minutes! Come on!”

Seifer either doesn’t believe him, or does not care, and Hayner is soon losing this argument quite completely. 

Conceding, Hayner grabs a towel and moves for the bathroom, colliding with Seifer as he does. Looking up with a scowl, Hayner is greeted with an almost blinding view of Seifer’s vivid blue eyes. 

“I got first dibs on the shower, princess.” Seifer smirks. “Unless you wanted to join me?” 

Hayner knows he’s supposed to come back with a witty quip about Seifer’s level of UNattractiveness and how he’d never want something like that, but he’s genuinely distracted by the man’s eyes, so he stumbles over an array of words before dodging out of his way instead. If Seifer’s confused by the reaction, Hayner doesn’t see it, crawling onto the bed and hiding in his phone instead. 

“You can shower first then, _ princess _.” Hayner says, as flippant as he can muster, trying to bring back some balance to their relationship. “I can be a gentleman and wait.” 

Hayner needs to arrange his outfit anyways. However, as soon as he hears the bathroom door lock, he brings up his group chat with Olette and others, the one with_ out _ Seifer, and types frantically. 

**what’s a braincell? sent :** What do you do when u realize someone is more attractive than u ever thought cause u were too busy being annoyed by them how do you act

**The Only One With a Brain Cell Apparently sent : **Hayner, what?

**what’s a braincell? sent :** Asking for a friend of a friend

**The Only One With a Brain Cell Apparently sent :** Hayner, we’re your only friends.

**what’s a braincell? sent :** Asking for Roxas 

**no braincell to speak of sent :** bold of u to think i have time for any for that

**what’s a braincell? sent :** Asking for Pence

**Only has braincell for mysteries sent :** thanks man.

**The Only One With a Brain Cell Apparently sent :** Act how you normally do and then accidentally make it really awkward because if you’re gonna be living out the fake dating trope you might as well go all in.

**what’s a braincell? sent :** I hate you all goodbye I gotta get ready for dinner

**The Only One With a Brain Cell Apparently sent :** take pictures!!!!

**what’s a braincell? sent :** You take pictures

**The Only One With a Brain Cell Apparently sent a picture. **

Olette’s reply is as speedy as usual, and the picture is a cute selfie of her doing the peace sign. Hayner curses internally. 

**The Only One With a Brain Cell Apparently sent :** Send pictures.

**what’s a braincell? sent :** Fine u win goodbye 

Despite his sulking, Hayner ends up back on the group chat relatively quickly, looking for their advice on what to wear. He’d actually brought a couple options - aka the only options he had at home - but he’s not entirely sure how to dress himself up. Olette usually did that for him. 

**no braincell to speak of sent : **i still cant believe u own 2 button ups

**no braincell to speak of sent : **so fancy 

**what’s a braincell? sent : **It’s literally just for the bistro. I alternate each time I work. I’m pretty sure my boss is abt to buy me a third cause he’s sick of these two LOL 

**Only has a braincell for mysteries sent : **take it!!! free clothes man. And knowing him. Probably EXPENSIVE 

**what’s a braincell? sent : **Knowing him, probably hand me downs that man is CHEAP 

They decide on his plum button up. One that’s covered in creases. Hayner tries his best to get out of ironing it, but Olette is insistent, and the room has an iron. Fancy bastards. 

(He doesn’t know what Seifer’s wearing, much to Olette’s annoyance, but he doesn’t want to match anyways. That’s eighty different levels of awkward.)

He darts for the bathroom as soon as Seifer exits, half dressed and towel drying his hair, taking all the decided clothes and his phone with him. Once inside with the door locked, he deposits his stuff onto one end of the counter before leaning onto it, breathing deep. He’s gone most of his life seeing Seifer half dressed and _ now _ it wants to bother him? 

Glaring at his reflection, Hayner runs a swift hand through his hair and sighs. Only one more night. He could survive this... Right? 

* * *

“Would you hurry up?” Seifer snaps at him from the other side of the door, banging out three knocks. “You’re the one who said you’d only take five minutes!” 

Hayner mimics Seifer silently, making faces in the mirror as he continues to style his hair. 

“It’s not _ my _ fault you decided to leave the bathroom before you were done!”

“Hurry up!” Seifer demands again, with one final knock as a “warning”. Hayner turns and scowls, despite knowing the other man wouldn’t see it. He’s basically finished anyways, only giving some final touches to his hair so it’s more leaning towards a formal style, rather than his usual “just get out of my face, please” style. When he’s satisfied, he gives one final tug to his sleeve, looks himself over in the mirror, and makes another face.

(He’s never liked how he looks all dressed up.)

Hayner unlocks and opens the door with one swift motion, nearly slamming it into Seifer who had returned to yell at him again. Hayner stops with a jerk when he hears Seifer shout, eyes wide and he looks up at him in thinly veiled shock and confusion. 

“Be… careful next time you open the door.” Seifer says haltingly, as if embarrassed. It seems as though he was going to yell, but his eyes move to take in Hayner’s appearance instead, flustering the smaller of the two. 

“Don’t stand right behind the door then.” Hayner grumbles quietly, shying close to the door, as if to hide. One conversation in and he’s already failed at keeping it cool and casual. 

Seifer is, once more and most unfortunately, looking incredibly attractive and Hayner allows himself to check him out briefly before awkwardly muttering, “You look… nice.” 

He ends up mostly staring at Seifer’s shoes, that are stupidly shiny, as Seifer returns his compliment, with as much discomfort as Hayner had spoken with. Nodding slowly, Hayner sits in the strange silence for a brief second before almost lunging for his spot on the bed, his hand already reaching for his phone. 

“Hold it.” Seifer says, grabbing Hayner’s arm before he can take more than half a step. “Come here for a second.” 

Hayner complies, shooting Seifer a suspicious look when Seifer releases his arm and reaches for something in his pocket. 

“Pull your sleeve back.” Seifer says, nodding at Hayner’s arm. Confused, but curious, Hayner raises his right arm, tugging his sleeve back a bit as he did so. Seifer rolls his eyes. “Your other sleeve.” 

Hayner mutters, “Picky, picky.” at him as he follows through, switching over to bring his left arm up and offering his wrist to Seifer. Seifer doesn’t say anything more, remaining uncharacteristically silent as he brings something shiny to Hayner’s wrist.

It’s a watch. A very _ nice _ watch and Hayner feels his mouth drop open as he takes it in. The design is simple and classic, with a black watch face without numbers and gold trim. The wide strap is gold as well, a mesh design that feels smooth across Hayner’s skin. Hayner’s heart stutters when Seifer’s finger brush across his pulse point as the other does up the watches’ clasps before turning it to sit properly on Hayner’s wrist. 

With his mouth agape, Hayner lift his head to try and search Seifer’s face for some semblance of an explanation. The elder gives nothing away, his expression almost blank as he stares down at the watch, and the wrist he stills holds in his palm. His eyes only meet Hayner’s when he drops his hand and it’s only then that Hayner spots the faintest trace a blush starting to blossom on Seifer’s cheeks. 

Seifer breaks it before Hayner can get out any sort of question. 

“Don’t be weird.” He demands, flicking Hayner’s forehead. An action that Hayner immediately tries to swat at, but is always too late for. 

“You don’t be weird!” Hayner huffs back at him, but he feels the tension in his shoulders lessen as their interaction reverts more into what he knows. Seifer rolls his eyes and shoulders his way past Hayner to get back into the bathroom. He doesn’t shut the door, so Hayner assumes he’s finishing up with his hair, but he still steps away from the door and inspect the watch more closely, gently running his fingers along its face and strap. 

It’s a _ really _ nice watch. 

Hayner feels his heart begin to pick up again - how much did this _ cost? _ \- but his phone is beeping and demanding his attention, so he scrambles to pull it from his pants’ pocket. It’s only Olette, reminding Hayner of his promise to send her a picture, so he forces himself to calm down with a couple deep breaths and calls out, “Olette wants us to take a selfie!” 

There’s a brief pause and then Seifer is leaning out the bathroom door with a disgruntled expression.

“Why?” 

“Because she’s our friend and wants to see a picture?” 

Seifer just huffs out a, “Whatever.” before ducking back into the bathroom, so Hayner rolls his eyes and follows after him, figuring a mirror selfie would be the only way to get the man to cooperate. 

It turns out to be a pretty decent picture, with Seifer in the middle of straightening his tie, glancing at the camera in the mirror out of the corner of his eye, and Hayner wearing his usual wide grin, mimicking the peace sign Olette had done in her earlier selfie. 

Hayner leans onto the counter, smiling as he sends it and within seconds Olette is replying. 

**Absolute Sunshine sent :** Ohh! You both look so handsome! Be sure to take a picture with everyone, I wanna hear all about them when you get back! 

Laughing softly at her eagerness, Hayner quickly types back.

**Seiner 1 sent :** Roger o7 

**Absolute Sunshine sent :** (´∀｀)╯♡

With Seifer finally deeming himself acceptable, he whacks Hayner’s shoulder to get him moving and they’re finally heading for the front door. Hayner’s just about to pocket his phone, when it beeps in his hand and his eyes are widening at the message that greets him.

**The Knower of All Things sent : **when tf did you get a new watch 

Hayner pulls up the selfie, dread slowly prickling up his spine as he realizes the watch is in full view. A watch he knows they know he did not have before. He’s never been known for his admirable first instincts - later realizing he could have lied and said he bought it himself - and this is no different as he replies with a hasty and desperate _ secret _. His friends are not dumb however and jump to the other group chat.

**no braincell to speak of sent : **DID SEIFER FUCKING BUY YOU A WATCH

**Only has a braincell for mysteries sent : **It looks so fancy 

**no braincell to speak of sent : **HAYNER 

**no braincell to speak of sent : **DID HE?

**no braincell to speak of sent : **DID HE BUY YOU A DESIGNER WATCH 

Hayner doesn’t reply. He puts his phone on silent, shoves it into his pocket, and shoots Seifer a smile that’s too big when the man turns back to him. 

“You good?” Seifer asks, cocking a brow. Hayner gives him an awkward thumbs up.

“Never better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting all the chapters at once~! I hope you enjoy  
I absolutely ADORE the group chats in this chapter so I hope you do too!!!


	6. Check, please!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 3, Pt 2.   
Emetophobia warning. (Hayner gets wasted)

Despite Seifer’s grousing and obvious unease - that he tries and fails to hide - dinner goes off without a hitch. 

They’re some of the first to arrive, managing to find the restaurant without getting lost for once. Hayner spends most of the walk eyeing Seifer’s incessant fidgeting and fighting off the desire to hold the other’s hand to see if it would calm him down. It’s not a thought he’d ever thought he’d have, and it’s not one he’s at all ready to handle in a mature manner, so he distracts himself with pointless chatter about some of the worst customers he’s had at work.

(At least Seifer appreciates the right hook Hayner gave one rude customer, even if no one else at home did.) 

When they arrive, Hayner greets the only two to beat then, Yuffie and Cid, with a large grin and wave from the restaurant’s entrance. Yuffie is dressed in a beautiful emerald green dress that she later shows off with an excited spin while Cid’s version of “formal wear” is nothing more than a red tie slapped over his usual white t-shirt.

He then  _ tries _ to make his way over to them, they’re both milling about the table, straightening out decorations and organizing chairs, when Seifer yanks on his arm again, forcing him to face him. 

“What?” Hayner asks with a suspicious glare. His partner doesn’t respond, he just looks over Hayner once again before eyeing his hair with some distaste.

“Fix your hair.” Seifer commands lowly, reaching one hand up to try and tame the locks of hair Hayner imagines have sprung free from their gelled prison. 

“I tried!” Hayner pulls his face back from the touch, annoyed and flustered. It’s not his fault his hair has a mind of his own. He could probably glue it back and certain strands would still break away to stand tall. 

“Not very hard!” This makes Hayner set Seifer with a glare, one that Seifer returns with his own before reaching up to once again try and fix some problem he found. 

“Dress me yourself next time then!” Hayner hisses, swatting the other man away with a huff. Lifting his own hand through instinct, an ingrained response to whack Hayner back, Seifer’s hand clenches into a fist. After a calming breath, he releases one finger to point at Hayner. 

“Don’t fuck this up.” He says and Hayner feels a stab of pain that reverberates in his chest and stings behind his eyes. Softer this time, he pushes Seifer’s hand out his face and looks to the floor to reply, not bothering to face the other anymore. 

“I’m not  _ trying _ to.” Hayner mumbles, finally breaking from Seifer’s orbit to make his way to their table. 

Seifer doesn’t follow. 

(At least, not right away.) 

Yuffie gives him an amused but puzzled look when he finally arrives, most likely curious about their stall at the entrance. Hayner lands in his chair with a huff, pulling up an annoyed expression, and replies, “Apparently I didn’t look perfect enough for Seifer.”

“Well, you look perfect enough to me!” Yuffie tells him with a barely suppressed giggle. Hayner manages a smile at this but keeps his back to Seifer when the other man finally sits down. 

“Well, aren’t you two fancy!” Cid booms at them, his usual grin and toothpick in place as he eyes them from across the table. Seifer accepts the compliment with a small nod, unbuttoning his suit jacket as he did so. Hayner, who hadn’t thought to do up his jacket, just shifts awkwardly. 

“Some of us had to be!” He teases, trying to change his mood. Cid takes the jab with a loud laugh and Yuffie, from her spot beside Hayner, leans in to whisper that Cid didn’t even own the tie he had on, he had to borrow it. 

The table more than makes up for Cid’s inelegance. With pristine white tablecloths, ornate candelabras offering a soft and romantic glow, and more glasses and cutlery than Hayner knew what to do with. Amidst his awe, he forgets his irritation with Seifer and leans into close to the other man to whisper, “Are you  _ sure _ you didn’t save accidentally save a mob boss?” 

Seifer seems willing to forgive their earlier spat as well, smiling when he replies, “Almost 95%.” 

The others show up not long after, Leon and Cloud arriving alongside Aerith and Tifa as they had decided to get ready together. Aerith immediately begins to coo over Hayner when she reaches the table, telling him how handsome he looks. He manages to grin at the first couple, blushing but pleased, but as she continues on, his face only grows hotter until he’s forced to hide it in his folded arms. 

“I think you broke him.” Seifer says in wonder from somewhere above him. 

“That just means you don’t pay him enough compliments.” Aerith replies curtly. Hayner replies too, but it’s a garbled, muffled mess that he refuses to repeat. 

He resurfaces when Rai and Fuu turn up, dumbstruck at how good they look dressed in their matching suits. He makes sure to pay them plenty of compliments, but apparently Seifer gets jealous and soon whacks Hayner under the table to make him stop. 

“If you’re gonna leave me for Rai, could you at least do it outside the restaurant?” 

Hayner looks across the table to where Rai is appearing adorably puzzled and Fuu is giving him an “I am amused but tread lightly” stare. 

“Don’t worry, babe, I don’t think I could beat Fuu so I’ll stick with you.” 

This gets a genuine laugh out of the red eyed girl and Seifer’s jaw drops. Cloud even chokes on his drink, which reroutes the conversation pretty quick as Leon is soon panicking over his coughing boyfriend and their food is arriving soon after that. 

It comes in stages, alongside several bottles of wine, as a set course - the hotel wanting to show off the best of their menu - and Hayner’s never been more happy to leave the food selection to someone else. He’s also excited to recognize some of the names - Scallop Poêle and Mushroom Terrine - leaning in to speak softly to Seifer and explain how his own bistro has similar dishes. Seifer teases him gently, saying he never expected Hayner to be so well versed in the restaurant industry, but his tone is playful and warm so Hayner just grins back. 

The intimate mood is ruined, however, when Yuffie leans in to jab Hayner in the arm and demand an in on the conversation, causing Aerith to scold her. Hayner doesn’t mind (that much) and feels himself relax fully into the group again as the conversation continues. 

There’s only a small hiccup, when they finish with all the appetizers, when Yuffie suddenly grabs his arm, shaking him lightly, and goes, “I can’t wait for your next visit! There’s so much we have to show you.” 

There’s another stab of pain in Hayner’s chest, different than the last, and Hayner finds he can’t form a proper word for a couple seconds. There hasn’t been much talk of Hayner coming back, and Hayner had never thought to think about this being a possibility, so he’s left floundering. 

“Uh, yeah.” Is all he ends up getting out, awkward and stilted. “It might be a while, though. I have a lot coming up with school…” 

It’s a weak evasion, but it’s also the best he’s got. Olette’s planner never planned for this! 

(Or did it?) 

“Summer break is soon though, isn’t it?” Aerith asks, tilting her head. “Couldn’t you come then?” 

Hayner shifts in his seat, feeling the edges of an anxiety attack creeping in. They weren’t going to be doing this in the summer. They weren’t going to be doing this in two  _ days _ . But how is Hayner going to tell them that, when they’re already so engrossed in the idea of them being a couple?

Hayner shoots Seifer a quick glance, but Seifer just continues to sit uselessly beside him, suddenly completely enraptured by a conversation he’s having with Merlin. 

“Maybe, but I work a lot so…” He doesn’t, really, he could easily make a trip. “We’ll see.” 

Maybe it’s his abrupt lack of eye contact, his unusual interest in the salad fork he finds in his hands, or the obvious change in the air, but something causes both Aerith and Yuffie to take pity on him.

“Well,” Aerith says, both starting and stopping the conversation. “Maybe we’ll just have to come visit you then.” 

Hayner hesitates, but when Seifer still doesn’t say anything, he can’t help the small grin that takes over his face. 

“Yeah. That’d be nice.” 

The entrée round brings about more wine, “Better suited to the food.” (Or so says their server) some of the most tender steak Hayner’s ever eaten in his life, and three full lobsters that disturb him enough that Seifer has them moved to either end of the table. (Hayner, as sneakily as he is able, gives Seifer a bit more of his steak as a thank you.) 

Unfortunately, the next stage has the severs bringing two full cups of whole shrimp to the table and they’re both placed right in front of him, forcing Hayner to explain his aversion to shellfish. He assures the table they can eat it, but having the shrimp stare him down with their beady black eyes is more than a little creepy. 

Both Rai and Cid help him out by grabbing about four each and shoving them into their faces, putting Hayner even more off than before. He unthinkingly latches onto to Seifer’s arm in his disgust, as if to hide behind the other man as he watches on in vague horror. 

“I thought you said we could eat them!” Cid grins at him, more than amused by Hayner’s reaction. 

“Not like _ that _ !” 

This earns him a loud laugh from the table and a sympathetic pat on the cheek from his boyfriend. Seifer uses the same arm Hayner has his looped around, and it’s only then Hayner realizes how close he is. He lets go with a slight flush to his face but Seifer doesn’t seem to be bothered by it and the table is still laughing at his comical reaction, so it goes unnoticed. 

There’s a longer break between dinner and dessert, time given to them to settle their stomach and give them the room  _ for  _ said desserts. (A raspberry mille feuille, the server tells him.) The group is in a pleasant mood, full of food and wine, and Tifa turns to Hayner with a gentle smile. 

“I’m really glad Seifer finally brought you,” She says softly and to the general agreement of the group. “We’ve been bugging him for ages about it.” 

A dim light goes off in Hayner’s head, reminding him of why he was even here in the first place. He’d been caught up in the atmosphere, nearly forgetting his purpose was to be a con. It hurts a little, remembering that he won’t be seeing these people after this whole endeavour as he’s truly grown to like them. 

But, still, he did promise Seifer he wouldn’t fuck this up. 

“Oh, yeah, he’s just…” A small frown purses his lips as he tries to locate the right word. “Like that.” 

There’s another laugh, most of the group nodding in agreement, and Yuffie leans in, knocking her shoulder against Hayner’s. 

“The important thing is that you’re here. And that now we can tell the higher up the Seifer and Riona wedding is off.” 

Hayner’s in the middle of taking a sip of wine, hoping it will settle the painful flutterings in his heart, when Yuffie says this, which promptly causes him to nearly cough it all back up. 

“Seifer and  _ who _ ?” Hayner squeaks, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Seifer never mentioned  _ that _ . Both members have the decency to look lightly flushed at the mention as Hayner continues on. “And, who? What? Higher ups?” 

This is all going topsy turvy on him and he’s sure it’s not just the wine’s fault. He really should have grilled Seifer more before agreeing to this whole adventure. 

“Didn’t he tell you?” 

“No!”

“Yeah, the bosses above us got all into setting him and Riona up for some reason. So then Seifer said he was already seeing someone but they didn’t really believe him, so they made him bring them to this…” Tifa waves her hand through this, and while Hayner keeps up for the most part, his brain is still getting an error message at the whole “Seifer/Riona” thing. “But! We’ve met you! So we can tell them that you do in fact exist and they can stop harassing Seifer about his love life!” 

Hayner pauses again to try and take this in. 

Not only did he have to be Seifer’s fake boyfriend, he had to be a fake boyfriend to try and convince a group of people he didn’t even  _ know _ that he  _ wasn’t _ fake. 

It’s a lot to work with.

“Dating you is so much work.” He ends up telling Seifer with a groan, folding forward onto the table to rest his forehead on the back of his hand. There’s some sounds of sympathy from the surrounding group and a hand that reaches up to knead at the back of Hayner’s neck. Seifer’s, Hayner correctly assumes. 

“You’re doing great, babe.” 

Hayner manages a weak thumbs up, shooting up only when Leon mentions potentially seeing their dessert. It’s easier to ignore the confusing and awkward feelings growing inside when a delicious pastry is being set in front of you. 

“What do we want to do after this?” Aerith asks, light and conversational, as she takes a small bite of her dessert. Hayner’s mouth is already full with as big a chunk as he could manage, so he doesn’t bother trying to answer. Yuffie, who is in the same situation as him, decides she still wants too and hastily chews and swallows her bite to do so. 

“We should go to the bar!” She chirps, brandishing her fork in the air to Leon’s annoyance. There’s several sounds of agreement that surprise Hayner so after he’s finished  _ savouring _ the dessert like you’re  _ supposed _ to, he pipes up.

“Are you guys serious? How are you even alive after last night?” He’s already feeling very tipsy off their free wine and isn’t sure how much more he can handle before blacking out completely. (Not that he’s ever had a high alcohol tolerance to begin with.) He’s also not sure what will come out of his mouth if he gets any drunker and isn’t too keen to find out. 

“We’ve had all day to recover,” Yuffie waves off his concern with a flick of her wrist. “Besides! It’s our last night! We have to go all out!” 

“What about going all—“ Hayner starts before Yuffie is threatening him with her fork. 

“And  _ you _ have to stay this time!” 

Maybe it’s the small, concerned groan that Hayner tries to hide in the back of his throat, or the anxious look that curls his mouth in a frown, but something causes Seifer to have a rare show of sympathy, dropping his hand onto Hayner’s shoulder to give it a light shake. 

“Just don’t make him drink anymore. I don’t feel like losing him in the city.” 

Yuffie’s look is suspicious.

“Hayner, you can’t be  _ that _ bad—“ 

“Would you like my drunken misadventures is chronological, or alphabetical order?” 

“Chronological.” Cloud says after a moment’s pause. 

“Well…!” 

“Alright! Fine! But you have to come hang out with us at least!” 

Hayner supposes that’s fair and agrees, to Yuffie and Aerith’s delight, and as soon as their plates have been cleared away the group is standing up to make their way to the bar that’s filling up fast. 

They manage to snag a large booth and while the others deposit their things and make their way over to lay claim over the bar and dance floor, Hayner and Seifer sit down to keep watch. Hayner’s not up for either of the group’s chosen activities, so he’s happy to be left off to the side for once. He feels a pleasant warmth, and whether that’s from the wine or Seifer’s arm around his waist, he’s not too sure, but he’s not too bothered by it either. 

Several members of the restoration committee come up to try and drag them into taking shots, but the only one who succeeds is Rai, who manages to get Seifer to concede to a tequila shot to celebrate…  _ something _ . The man’s too over the moon drunk to speak clearly enough for Hayner to understand him. 

They raise their drink in a cheers first, and Hayner manages to trick Rai into thinking he’s taking a shot too when he raises his fist in lieu of a glass. He gets a, “Yeaaah! Hayner!” for his efforts and Seifer gets a clap on the back and some garbled compliment that goes over Hayner’s head. Seifer seems to understand, however, as his cheeks take on a small flush. 

Hayner tries to asks Seifer what the shot was for, after the cheery man has left their table to find Fuu, but the man retains the soft pink in his cheeks and shakes his head, refusing to answer. 

“Do Rai and Fuu know?” Hayner asks, watching Rai embrace Fuu as though he’d hadn’t seen her in years. “About us and the whole fake dating thing?” 

“They know.” 

“Everything?” Seifer doesn’t answer. Something in his silence alerts Hayner to a startling discovery. “Seifer, do they think we’re actually dating?” 

“Do you think Rai could keep a secret like this?” Seifer replies with a frown, keeping his gaze averted. “It’s easier this way.” 

While Hayner’s sure this is true, it’s still weird. He had thought their easy going acceptance of him had been them being in on the con. Knowing this… 

“Huh.” 

“What?” Seifer asks, finally turning to throw him a suspicious look. 

“I dunno, just didn’t think they’d be so cool with me dating you.” It’s sweet, in its own way. “Thought I’d at  _ least _ get one death threat.” 

“What?” Seifer chuckles. “Thought they hated you?”

“Seifer, we spent our entire childhood fighting, why wouldn’t I think that?” 

Seifer makes a face like “fair enough” and turns back to the dance floor. 

“Nah, they like you well enough.” Then, in a matter of fact tone, “They think you’re a good match for me.”

“Did you tell them about our perfect zodiacs?”

Seifer smirks, but he doesn’t reply. It’s just as well, the bar then decides to amp up the music at the exact same time, making conversation rather difficult. 

This, unfortunately, doesn’t deter everyone. 

Having grabbed the biggest booth, Hayner watches several people give it some wistful stares before going back to the drinks. Only one person is brave enough, or stupid enough, to come and plop down like he owned the place and, after squinting in the dim light, Hayner soon recognizes them.

“You’re that dude from earlier! With all the shitty opinions about Struggle!” Hayner’s sure he’s hard to hear over the din, and the man makes a confused face at him before lifting one hand to his ear, to signal that he couldn’t hear. Rolling his eyes, Hayner leans further over the table and repeats himself. 

It apparently isn’t enough, as the man repeats the motion, before waving Hayner off and moving over in the booth so he could sit closer and, “Hear him better.”. Hayner leans away - unconsciously - from the man when he settles in, pressing into Seifer’s side. While Seifer doesn’t say anything, even as the man starts up the conversation again, his eyes do slide over the glance over the man, narrowing as they did. 

Whether the other man just doesn’t notice Seifer’s arm around Hayner’s waist, or just doesn’t  _ care _ , Hayner can’t tell, but he’s immediately regretting starting any sort of conversation with him when the man takes to leaning in closer than necessary to say anything and giving Hayner grins that he used to punch on the old men leering at Olette.

Hayner’s sure he’s making his irritation with the dude known, he’s never been good at hiding it, with a perpetual frown and grunted one word answers, but through unfortunate experience, Hayner knows that’s not always enough to get people to leave you alone. 

It sure isn’t now. 

“It seems you just can’t grasp the nuances of my opinion.” The man says after about fifteen minutes, with a grin Hayner can only describe as “wolfish” curling his lips. “Why don’t we go back to my room to… discuss it more.”

Hayner’s face immediately turns into one of disgust and he falls back onto Seifer completely. Seifer, who  _ finally _ decides to join in the conversation, tightens the arm looped around Hayner’s waist and leans in past him. Glaring at the man whose eyes are slowly beginning to widen with understanding. 

“You got a lot of nerve asking that when I’m sitting  _ right here _ .” Seifer growls, low in his throat, making no effort to hide the threat behind his words

The man blanches immediately, Hayner shooting him a smug look from his squished spot between them, his gaze finally zeroing in on the arm wound around Hayner. Any shred of confidence he had walked in with vanishes and he stutters over some semblance of an apology before quickly sliding over and stumbling out of the booth. Hayner watches the whole thing with an amused grin that only vanishes when Seifer’s suddenly pinching his stomach.

“Why did you tell him to fuck off earlier?” Seifer scowls at him, earning him a dirty look in return when Hayner pulls away to rub at the now tender spot on his ribs. 

“I’m bad at being hit on, okay?” He explains with a whine. “I freeze up. It’s weird.” 

It’s been this way since he was a teenager. He could tackle any asshole who dared make any move on his group of friends - one time quite literally - but when someone’s attention turned to him, he always turned into a deer in the headlights. 

“Just tell them to fuck off.” Seifer says, like it’s just that easy. 

(It should be. Hayner’s just as mad it isn’t.)

“Listen, if someone is insulting me I can tell them to eat shit easy peasy. but if they’re hitting on me, it’s a whole different story.” Hayner huffs. “And besides! As my boyfriend it is your  _ job _ to protect me from creeps.”

“Since when did you need protecting?” Seifer asks with an amused smirk. 

“Since creeps starting thinking I was hot, fuck off.” 

“Now the attitude comes out—“

“Hayner!” Yuffie squeals, breaking up the conversation by crashing into Seifer, forcing the man much farther into Hayner’s personal space than he’s prepared for. Thankfully, Seifer’s too irritated to notice the dark flush that quickly climbs up Hayner’s face, turning his head to face their sudden football star who flings out an arm and cries. “Come drink with me!” 

“You sure you need anymore?” Seifer asks, unimpressed as he eyes her.

Yuffie sets him with a deadpan stare. 

“I’m fine, thank you very much, Mr. Grumpy Pants. Come on! Tell your boyfriend to drink with me, I’m not gonna see him again for like, ever!” 

“You heard the boss,” Seifer grins, turning to a vaguely offended Hayner. “Off you go!” 

There’s only a few groans as Hayner rolls his eyes and shoves at Seifer to move out of the way. Once he’s standing and free of the booth, Yuffie latches onto his arm with an excited shout, “Yay! Let’s go! Bye, Seifer!” 

She drags him across the dance floor, despite his annoyed shouts, and as soon as they hit the bar, they grab a pair of stools and Yuffie is slamming her hand on the counter. The bartender seems fond, and slightly exasperated, but is swift in providing their first round that consists of a jägerbomb, some fruity shot Hayner misses the name of, and a long island iced tea. 

Hayner knows this night is going to end with someone on the floor and it’s very likely to be him. 

“So,” Yuffie starts with a devilish grin, settling onto her stool. “Seifer.” 

Hayner just raises his eyebrows at her.

“Seifer?”

“Yes! Seifer!” 

There’s a pause as Hayner waits for her to finish prompting whatever conversation she’s trying to start. 

“What about him?” He asks eventually, when it becomes clear Yuffie isn’t going to say anymore. He takes a small sip of his drink and chokes on it slightly. She’s ordered them a double.  _ Of course. _

“What’s it like dating him!” She asks with a shout, shaking his shoulder as she does so. Hayner shoots her a weird look and takes another drink. 

“Why? You jumping in line?” 

“Ha ha! No!” She shoves him, amused, and Hayner smiles back. “I’m just curious! It’s kinda weird imagining him in something as like… soft. As a romantic relationship.” 

She makes a good point, Hayner nodding his agreement before she continues on. 

“I wondered what kind of person would be a good match for him. Can’t say you’re who I expected.” 

“I am, a perfect match, thank you very much.” Hayner huffs in a dramatic fashion, bringing one hand to his chest. “Even our zodiacs are compatible.”

“That is so cute that you guys checked that.” 

“Shut up.” 

There’s another small pause before Yuffie prompts him again.

“So? What’s it like? Dating him?” 

It’s only after Yuffie repeats her insistence on not having any semblance of a crush on Seifer that Hayner speaks. 

“I dunno. It’s… Kinda weird, I guess. We were rivals for our whole lives so like, trying to be anything else just feels… Weird sometimes.”

Yuffie makes a sympathetic and understanding sound, but Hayner continues before she can say anything. 

“But it’s also not as hard as I thought it would be? Which is, honestly, a lot weirder…” 

“There’s a thin line between love and hate, Hayner!” Yuffie tells him, lifting her glass towards him. “A very thin line indeed.” 

“I’ll drink to that…” He says softly, taking a larger drink than necessary, much to Yuffie’s satisfaction. 

The party continues on around them, both of them enjoying talking with each other too much to bother trying to stand. (After three more rounds, Hayner is also aware that standing will end well for no one in his direct vicinity.) The rest of the Restoration Committee flitters around them and Hayner manages to snap pictures of them all for Olette and the others. Including one where he’s receiving a kiss on the cheek from both Aerith and Tifa and another where he’s in the middle of a loud laugh with Leon looking exasperated on one side and Cloud leaning in to kiss Hayner on the cheek, mimicking the previous pose. 

Olette’s replies begin to slow as the night wears on — although Pence’s amused comments on Hayner’s terrible alcohol tolerance stay in full swing — so Hayner is eventually forced to post the other pictures on Instagram, mostly due to the other member’s rampant encouragement to add him on various forms of social media. 

It’s almost two in the morning, several hours since Hayner had separated for Seifer - who had stopped by only twice to check on his inebriated boyfriend - when Hayner’s night finally takes a very sudden and twisting turn. 

He’s just finished one of many childhood stories he has of Seifer and both he and Yuffie are giggling into their drinks when she starts, “I remember when he told us about you back in winter, we all—“

Now, Hayner knows his timeline has been skewed thanks to the numerous shots shoved on him, but that definitely sounds incorrect. Throwing up one hand, he puts a stop to Yuffie’s words, the girl giving him a perplexed look, before stumbling over his own sentence. 

“Wait… Wait. How long have you guys known about me?” He only got asked out a week ago, what’s this winter she’s talking about?

“Uh… You guys have been dating for like, four months? Right?” She asks, giving him a concerned look. Her eyes flash between him and his drink, wondering if she needs to slow him down. 

“… Yes.” Hayner says after a moment’s deliberation. That is what Seifer had said at the beginning, right?

“So… Four months?” 

“Four?!” Hayner splutters, eyes that he didn’t even notice closing now shooting open. “You’ve known about me for four months?” 

Hayner didn’t even know about himself for that long!

“Didn’t he tell you he told us?” Yuffie asks, a mix of emotions. Hayner responds, but it’s garbled and lost to his hands as he holds his face and attempts to orientate himself in more ways than one. 

He knew something had always felt off about this whole situation, but he’s been given one too many pieces to try and line up. He was under the impression they were only supposed to be together for one weekend only, but now it seems like they’ve been together  _ forever _ , and, to be quite honest, Hayner’s had one too many shots to make any sort of sense of anything. 

“To be honest,” Yuffie says slowly, “We thought you’d been together longer. He’d been getting hounded about dating by the superiors for ages and it was only a few months back that he finally snapped and said he was already seeing someone. Then, when the bosses left off and left, we jumped on him like, ‘Is it Hayner? Is it this Hayner you always talk about?’” 

Hayner’s eyes begin to widen, a very large ERROR message flashing in his head.

“He looked pretty flustered for a second, but he ended up going, ‘Yeah. It is.’.”

“Seifer talked about me?” 

“Uh, yeah? Like… All the time? Whenever he talked about Twilight Town he would mention you. It’s why we figured you were a thing.” 

The error message continues to flash in Hayner’s head, as this puzzle pieces proves to be one too many. The distorted and pixelated image he had been slowly forming in his head is nowhere near completion and he’s too drunk to even want to try fixing it. 

He drops his head forward with a confused and distressed groan, earning him a look of pity from Yuffie who orders them another round. Hayner’s just about to take his first shot when he suddenly feels his whole body shift into another dimension one foot to the right, nearly falling off his stool in the process. 

“Oh.” He says softly. “Oh no.” 

While he couldn’t be certain, he’s quite sure that the room isn’t supposed to start spinning when you were not moving. In the least. Except maybe downwards, as the table is suddenly very cool and very hard on his face. 

“Yuffie, I think I’m dead.” 

“Like… Vampire dead or skeleton dead?”

“Like Ancient God whose name is spoken of only in forgotten testaments dead.” 

“O-kay! Let’s get you to bed.” 

Yuffie manages to get him standing without any problems - slamming one of her shots before they leave - one arm hooked around Hayner and the other on his chest, stabilizing him.

They stagger across the dance floor, and Hayner only hip checks one person. Thankfully it’s just Rai, who tries to entice them to dance. He’s easily distracted by Fuu grabbing his hands and turning him away, allowing Yuffie the time to get across to Seifer without anymore stalls. 

“Seifer!” She calls when they near his table and Seifer, who had been in the middle of some conversation with Riona, turns with a curious expression. One that quickly morphs into a scowl when he sees Hayner at her side. “Grab yo’ bf! He dyin’!” 

“You have got to be fucking kidding me, Chickenwuss.” Seifer hisses as he stands, immediately reaching out to take Hayner, who just whines in response, not happy at being moved so quickly. “How much did you drink?!” 

Hayner tries to tell him the answer, but it comes out as a slurred grumble, so Seifer doesn’t bother asking again. 

“It might have been my fault… We took a lot of shots…” Yuffie starts to explain, but Hayner’s head begins to spin so he doesn’t catch the rest of the conversation. The music blaring too loud for him to concentrate. He presses against his head, trying to calm the headache creeping in. Seifer speaks to him, but Hayner only realizes this when Seifer gives him a small shake to catch his attention, resulting in a weak attempt at a swear and Hayner giving as good as a glare as he could. 

“Alright, we’ll see you guys in the morning. I got to get this idiot to bed.” Seifer sighs, wrapping an arm around Hayner’s waist and pulling one of Hayner’s arms around his shoulder. The two girls chorus a soft goodnight and Hayner watches as Yuffie slides into the spot next to Riona, a look of concern on both their faces. 

Hayner tries to wave goodbye, but doesn’t think it works. His hand feeling as heavy as lead while his insides feel all fluffy. 

Seifer doesn’t seem too angry as they make their way out of the bar, nodding a goodbye at Leon when they pass him. Hayner wonders if Seifer’s not going to say anything and sends a brief prayer that he won’t. Hayner knows he’s in no mood to process anything too complicated.

“I thought you said you couldn’t drink?!” Seifer suddenly hisses when they near the elevator, a more familiar persona coming out now that they’ve left the group. He shifts his hold on Hayner’s waist as well, to try and get the smaller man to straighten up. 

It doesn’t work.

“I can’t!” Hayner whines in response, stumbling when Seifer drags him into the elevator. 

“Then why the fuck did you?” Seifer asks, punctuating his irritation by slamming on their floor number much harder than necessary before slamming on the door shut button as well. 

“Because you told me to! Because it was fun! Because I like Yuffie! Because I like your stupid…” Here Hayner cuts himself off, bringing one hand to rub at his face, muffling his words and making himself incomprehensible. 

“You’re an idiot.” Seifer says, softer now, but still with some measure of aggravation. The last thing Hayner manages before keeping his head tucked into his own hand is a weak, “Shut up…” 

Upon entering their room, Seifer immediately drops Hayner onto the bed. Hayner makes a valiant attempt at crawling under his blankets, but Seifer stops him, digging Hayner’s sweatpants out of his suitcase and telling him he had to least change. Seifer’s tone indicates no room for argument, but Hayner tries anyways.

(He loses.)

After Hayner manages to strip himself of his formal clothes and struggles to throw on a plain T and sweats, Seifer hands him a bucket and tells him not to die. He’s already out of his suit jacket and pulling at his tie. Hayner watches him with some level of fascination and suspicion, his fingers curling around the cool metal in his hands. 

“What are you gonna do?”

“Clean up and go to bed. I don’t feel like going back.” 

Hayner gives a soft, “‘kay,” to this before wiggling back in bed and kicking at the blankets, attempting to tuck himself in without using his hands. Seifer watches him, maybe even debates helping him, but in the end he turns back for the bathroom without another word. Hayner would be bothered, but as soon as he’s laying down and in a comfortable position, his world goes black. 

* * *

Hayner isn’t aware of the time when he bolts up in bed. All he knows is it’s much earlier than it should be and is stomach is about to incite a rebellion. He takes a couple of shaky breaths, hoping to quell the storm within him, his hands searching out the bucket Seifer had given him earlier. 

The other man stirs at this, even though Hayner had crashed on his own side of the bed for once, and softly calls Hayner’s name as he pushes himself onto his elbows. Hayner tries to answer, but as soon as he opens his mouth to speak, he feels the acid begin to climb. 

After a pathetic, “Nope!” Hayner throws his hand over his mouth and launches himself out of bed, somehow managing to detangle himself from the sheets this go round. As soon as he reaches the toilet he collapses to his knees and begins to throw up the end of his night. As he continues to retch - his stomach heaving as it desperately tries to empty itself - Hayner tries to take in small gasps of air, his eyes stinging with tears and small whimpers crawling up his throat.

How he hated throwing up. 

After what feels like hours, his stomach settles momentarily and Hayner leans into the coolness of the toilet bowl, uncaring of how pathetic he must look. He closes his eyes, letting out small gasps, but he can still hear Seifer’s footsteps as he slowly makes his own way to the bathroom. Hayner wonders if he’s going to yell at him again, so he doesn’t bother to open his eyes when Seifer enters. 

He hears the man pause at the door, letting out a small sigh, before moving forward to crouch at Hayner’s side. Peeking through his lashes, all Hayner can see is Seifer’s knees as the man leans over him to flush the toilet. After a couple more shaky breaths, Seifer’s face in coming into view.

“How ya doin’, babe?” Hayner croaks when they finally make eye contact. Seifer just shakes his head.

“Better than you.”

“That’s not really a fair fight.” Hayner groans, turning his head when he realizes that talking is upsetting his stomach once again. 

Seifer lets out a soft hum of acknowledgement, reaching forward to rub small circles on Hayner’s back. Hayner relaxes at the touch, but it’s still not too long before his shoulders are tensing and the rest of his night is coming back up. 

Hayner is only able to stand, his stomach now completely empty but only half settled, with the help of Seifer. He’s hoisted up a little too fast for his liking and drops his head into Seifer’s shoulder, softly whining, “Be more gentle with me.”

He swears he hears a murmured apology, but he can’t be sure. 

At the other’s insistence of, “You’ll thank me later.” Hayner manages to get a small glass of water in him as well as brush his teeth. Only then does Seifer guide him back to the warmth and comfort of their bed. He lays Hayner down on the side Hayner originally claimed, but if he actually thinks that’s where Hayner is going to stay, he’s dead wrong. As soon as Hayner hears Seifer settle into his own side, Hayner gets up and crawls his way over right into Seifer’s arms. 

Seifer gives him a small, “Oi!” and pushes lightly on the other’s shoulders, but Hayner only frowns and tightens his grip, his arms firmly wound around the other’s chest. 

“I’m dyin’. Ya gotta be nice to me.” He insists, too tired and miserable to have any reservations or sense of embarrassment. Being hungover had always upped his need for physical affection, and lacking his usual crew, Seifer is just going to have to deal. 

Evidently as tired as him, Seifer only sighs and gives some sort of grumble as Hayner rearranges himself to get more comfortable. 

When he’s finally settled, Hayner begins to listen to Seifer’s breathing, noticing how it doesn’t slow as fast as it did the nights before. For once, it’s Hayner who slips into sleep first, and it’s only then that Seifer allows his own grip to tighten, tucking his head into the curve of Hayner’s shoulder. 

“You’re going to be the death of me.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter took THREE tries and I'm still not 100% happy with it but I wanted to kinda finish and post this so! here it is!!!!!


	7. Come Back Soon!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final Day + Epilogue + Bonus

Despite the alcohol running through his system, Seifer still wakes at seven a.m., his internal clock refusing to let go of its usual routine. He feels all kinds of stiff and his left arm is completely numb. Squinting his eyes open he immediately spots the culprit, who is still sound asleep. 

Seifer scowls at Hayner’s sleeping face - his mouth is half open but he’s looking ridiculously serene for someone who downed as many shots as he did - and part of him wants to rip his arm out from under the other, just to see the look on Hayner’s face. When he tugs back a bit, however, the serene look on Hayner vanishes, replaced with his eyebrows furrowing and a low whine coming from somewhere in his throat. 

Seifer stills immediately, and when he does, Hayner relaxes and presses himself in closer, neatly tucking himself under Seifer’s chin. Seifer can feel Hayner’s fingers curling into the back of his shirt and he knows that any ability he had to shove the smaller man away has died off completely. He probably should have expected something like this, Hayner had never been very good at picking up hints, but with both sleep deprivation and alcohol blurring his mind, he knows it would be hours before he’s ready to address any part of this situation. 

Deciding to take what he can, he lets himself relax and winds both of his arms around Hayner, confirming something Seifer’s always known. 

That Hayner fits perfectly in his arms. 

* * *

Hayner wakes to several heavy knocks echoing loudly through their hotel room. Almost immediately upon waking, his body punishes him for every drink he dared try the night before, and a warmth that had been previously surrounding him vanishes. He pries open his eyes as much as possible and reaches out with one hand to try and relocate it, but all he finds is crumpled sheets. Opening his eyes just a bit more, still squinting at the sunlight streaming in through the crack in the blinds, Hayner pushes himself onto his elbows and blearily looks around. He’s in their bed, on Seifer’s side once again, but the other man is nowhere to be found and when Hayner stretches his legs out he kicks a bucket. His night is one big mystery, so Hayner just stays in this position, hoping to orientate himself. 

Seifer’s voice sounds from behind him, startling him, but he’s at the door speaking lowly to whoever is on the other side. A weak attempt is made to turn and face the other properly, but when Hayner tries shifting just a centimetre to the right, his stomach threatens to empty itself of whatever scrap left within it, so Hayner just flops back down on the bed instead. Maybe the blankets would bury him and put him out of his misery. 

(Motion sickness had nothing on hangovers.) 

Remaining motionless, Hayner listens as Seifer closes the door and walks softly back to his side of the bed. With a low sigh, one that sounds tired but not from sleep deprivation, he sinks back down onto the bed. Hayner waits for him to speak, but when the silence stretches on, he manages to push a small sound from his throat, successfully catching Seifer’s attention, who turns to him with a jerk. 

“Fuck, you scared me, Chickenwuss…” Seifer mumbles, rubbing at his eyes. “Didn’t think you were awake.” 

“Mm.” Hayner hums, trying and failing to ask who was at the door. Had he the energy he might even reach out to touch Seifer, something in the other’s expression stirring up the unusual desire to comfort him. 

“Cid came by,” Seifer explains, apparently understanding whatever language Hayner had picked up. “To tell us we had to be out of here by eleven.” 

“Gh?” He means to ask for the time to see how long he has to wallow in his hungover misery but words are still evading him. And way too much effort. Thankfully, Seifer seems to still be on his wavelength. 

“It’s ten now, so we have about an hour-“ 

“An hour?!” Hayner squeaks, finally managing a proper word as he shoots back up in bed. He immediately falls back down with several whimpered, “Fuck.”’s 

There is  _ no _ way he is going to be alive enough to ride on a train in an hour. He’s not sure he’s gonna be alive enough in two  _ days _ . Stupid Yuffie and her “You have to try this!” shots…

“Are you going to survive, Chickadee?” Seifer asks, one hand hovering over Hayner’s shoulder. He decides against anymore contact, resting it on the bed beside himself instead. Hayner opens his eyes again, considering Seifer’s word before making proper eye contact for the first time this morning. 

“No. Please just toss me out the window and let it be over with.”

“I’m not going to jail for you.” Seifer replies, flicking Hayner’s forehead lightly and pushing himself off the bed. 

“Lousy boyfriend.” Hayner grumbles as Seifer gathers his clothes, grabbing an outfit before standing to head for the shower. 

“If you’re not up by the time I’m out of the shower I’m dragging your sorry ass out of bed.” Seifer threatens before closing the bathroom door, not leaving any room for an argument. Hayner internally debates how serious the older man is but ultimately decides he doesn’t want to find out. 

Collecting himself, Hayner keeps his sprawled position for several minutes, slowly winding himself up for the seemingly impossible task of actually  _ sitting up. _ Even when he finally does get to it, his movements are intentionally sluggish, a method to keep his shaking body from giving out on him. Once he’s up, he lets out a slow breath and pulls his legs over to swing them off the side of the bed and finally stand. 

He wobbles a bit, his body feeling all sorts of empty after ridding itself of any food from the night before, but he does manage to make his way over to his own suitcase on the other side of the bed. He only changes his shirt, deciding his sweatpants to be the best travel choice, and it doesn’t take him long to collect the rest of his things from around the room. He had never been one to pack heavy and they’d spent a good portion of this trip outside. 

It feels weird to be packing up, each item reminding him of how this whole charade is now over and that by tomorrow, he and Seifer would be nothing but rivals again. Or, maybe not even that. Could you be rivals with someone you didn’t see anymore? Could you be  _ anything _ with someone you didn’t see anymore? It’s a troubling thought for Hayner, one that clenches his fist and burns through his blood. 

What were they now anyways? Friends? Hardly. Lovers? Only as a ruse. Only to keep people off Seifer’s back. Rivals? Enemies? They couldn’t even be that. You didn’t sleep in the same bed as your enemy. You didn’t share jokes or speak sweetly to them. You didn’t… You didn’t do  _ this _ . 

Tossing a pair of socks he found under the couch into his suitcase Hayner collapses onto the bed. His body feels even heavier than before and the myriad of emotions he accidentally incited in himself is doing nothing to elevate his mood. He rubs at his face, aggressive and comforting, and continues to hide behind his hands when he hears the bathroom door click open. 

There’s a short pause, where Hayner assumes Seifer stalls at the door before making his way through the room and asking, “You alive?” 

“Barely.” Hayner mutters bitterly. 

“You gonna shower?” 

“No. I just want to go home.” At least home made sense. Home had Roxas, and Pence, and Olette. Home had a familiar, gentle glow, adults telling you the same story for the thirtieth time, and sea-salt ice cream that melted down your hands. Home no longer had Seifer, but maybe that was for the best. 

When Seifer doesn’t respond right away, Hayner cracks his eyes open and peers through his fingers to watch the man who now seems to be ignoring him. Hayner finds himself frowning, suddenly unaccustomed and unhappy about losing Seifer’s attention. He’s too far for Hayner to whack, so he turns to see if he can find anything to throw at the other man. He’s just about to grab the nearest pillow when Seifer pipes up, sounding more distant than ever, “I’ll bring you to the station after this then.” 

Hayner wonders if there was another option that he’s no longer allowed, but isn’t given much time to dwell on it as Seifer continues, “You packed yet?” 

“Pretty much.” Hayner shrugs, kicking lightly at the half open bag at his feet. 

“Good. Then we’ll leave as soon as I’m ready.”

“Oh.” Hayner’s heart squeezes, his body feeling like nothing but a load of cargo. “Okay.”

Seifer shoots him a brief look. 

“What?”

“Nothing! I just… kinda wanted to say goodbye.” 

A stinging feeling permeates Hayner’s body and he hates it. Arguments with Seifer were supposed to be annoying or funny not… Painful. But every word Seifer speaks seem to grow colder and Hayner’s missing the previous day’s warmth. 

“Fine. Get your shit together.” 

Hayner bristles, an argument sparking on the tip of his tongue. He doesn’t understand Seifer’s sudden mood change, his sudden desire to be as big a dick as possible. But, before he can speak, he’s swallowing it back down, reminding himself that this is what they are. This is what they always were. There’s no point in getting upset over it now. Clutching at the soft fabric twisted in his fists, Hayner forces out a low, “You get your shit together, I’m already packed.” and pushes himself of the bed. 

Maybe Seifer doesn’t hear him, maybe he doesn’t care to bother listening, but their room goes quiet despite Hayner’s attitude, and the minutes that separate them from 11 a.m. seem to drag on for an eternity. 

At five to eleven, Hayner tosses his bag over his shoulder at Seifer’s head nod and slowly follows him out of the room. The Restoration Committee beats them anyways, cheerfully waving at the duo when they come into view. 

“How ya feeling?” Yuffie asks as soon as they approach, sympathetic as well as a little guilty. Hayner manages to give her a smile, shifting his backpack as he shrugs. 

“I’ve been worse.” 

“We’re thinking of going for lunch!” Aerith says brightly from behind Yuffie, “Are you two going to join?” 

An immediate ‘yes’ wants to spring from Hayner’s throat, but Seifer beats him to it. 

“We can’t. I gotta get Hayner on the next train.” He comes to stand next to Hayner as he says so, and part of Hayner waits for a hand to fall to his shoulder. 

He isn’t rewarded. 

“Awww! Can’t you take a later one?” Yuffie pouts. The rest of the groups nods behind her, looking both curious and let down. 

“Uh, no, unfortunately not.” Hayner replies weakly. “Got a lot of stuff to catch up on at home.” 

There’s several sounds of disappointment, and several chuckles when Hayner’s stomach lets out a growl, reminding him that it’s still empty. 

“Well!” Aerith starts, taking one of Hayner’s hands in her own. “It was very nice to meet you, Hayner. I hope we get to see you again soon.” 

“Yeah, me too.” Hayner replies, as sincere as the girl standing in front of him. He gives everyone else a short wave as they chorus goodbye before turning and following Seifer out the door. 

The walk to the train station is just as stilted as the walk from the room, Hayner only managing a few words when they pass a convenience store and he shoves his suitcase at Seifer to hold for a few seconds. While he knows he won’t be able to handle much in the way of food, he needs something to help pass the two hours of hell he’s about to walk into. 

Seifer just gives him a look and a grunt at his less than healthy food choices, so Hayner sticks his tongue out at him and steals his suitcase back, marching ahead. 

They reach the train station with hardly ten minutes to spare. Seifer briefly returns to the more gentleman like persona he had crafted for their odd adventure and picks up Hayner’s suitcase, carrying it up the small flight of stairs that led to the train platform. Ambient chatter surrounds the duo now stuck awkwardly facing one another, neither quite knowing how to say goodbye. 

Peeking up, Hayner shuffles his feet back and forth, feeling more out of place than he’s ever felt before. 

“I’ll…” Hayner starts before losing the sentence. He’ll what? Miss him? Text him? “See you around? I guess.” 

Seifer seems to consider this, eyes searching Hayner’s face, whose gaze has dropped to the floor again, before letting out a small hum in agreement. 

“Yeah. I’ll see you around.” 

Part of Hayner wants to make a joke to ruin the mood, tell Seifer to never call him again, but when he meets his gaze evenly, these words all die in his throat. Seifer seems to have the same urge to speak, opening his mouth just as the train whistle blows loudly and drowns out any attempt. The noise around them picks up, any stragglers finally making their move to board the train. 

“Don’t die.” Seifer says with a smirk, and Hayner knows this isn’t his original sentence. 

“I’ll try my best.” He says weakly. “Bye, Seifer.” 

This time it’s Hayner who gets to wave, rather awkwardly, at the Seifer blob growing more and more distant. He feels wrong. Agitated, and eight different kinds of sick. Falling heavily onto the train’s weakly cushioned seats, Hayner drops his head into his hands and gently massages at his temples. There’s no Aerith this time, no one reaching out to see if he’s all right and Hayner feels even more isolated than before. 

This isn’t how he thought he would feel at the end of all this. 

Isn’t he supposed to be relieved? Even happy that this is all over? No more awkward lies about a pretend relationship, no more sharing a bed, no more… No more Seifer. 

Hayner’s heart clenches tightly in his chest. So tightly it hurts, and he brings his hand up to try and soothe the pain. He takes a couple deep breaths, hoping it’s just his motion sickness acting up, but his brain’s latched onto a thought process and all it does is hurt him more. He hadn’t realized just how much he had missed Seifer. The man had always been a constant in Hayner’s life and losing him feels…

It feels like heartbreak. 

Hayner’s breath catches in his throat.

“Oh.” He says softly to himself, something he’s probably known for a long time finally dawning on him. “Oh, fuck.” 

* * *

The moment Hayner crashes into the Usual Spot he collapses at Olette’s feet, laying his head in her lap and winding his arms around her waist. 

“I’m an idiot, please murder me.” He cries out loudly, as Pence chirps out a, “Hi, Hayner!” and a startled Roxas goes, “Hayner, what the hell?” 

Olette just gives a soft laugh and gently pats his probably very gross and gel hardened hair. He really needed a shower. 

“Did you realize you were actually in love with Seifer the whole time?” She asks with a knowing smile. 

“Maybe.” Hayner says petulantly, his face still buried in her lap. 

“I knew it! Pence, you owe me fifty munny. I told you he’d realize.” 

“NOOO!” Pence’s anguished cry comes barely three seconds before Hayner’s shooting up and shouting, “You BET on me?!” 

After several promises of sea salt ice cream to make up for their “betrayal” and Hayner’s hangover coming back with a vengeance, the group settles down and listens as Hayner tells them about the trip, and his newly recognized feelings. They’re very attentive, Roxas only momentarily distracted when he notices the watch Hayner still has on his wrist and reaches out to inspect it as Hayner blathers on. He gets several sympathetic pats on the back at the end, as well as Roxas going, “Congrats on becoming a rom-com.” that gets him swatted. 

“I can’t believe I fully lived out the fake dating trope.” Hayner says in wonder, sprawled on the floor. Olette, from her spot on the couch, starts to count her munny reward.

“I could have told you you would.” She says flippantly, tucking a piece of defiant hair behind her ear, but not looking up. 

“How?!” Hayner cries, sitting back up. 

“I  _ told _ you. There’s been rumours you two were into each since middle school. Literally the only person surprised by this is you.” 

Hayner tries to think of some sort of witty response, or at least a whine, but all he can do is scowl and swipe a drink from Roxas’ hands. Roxas huffs at him, but doesn’t try and steal it back.

“It’s too bad Seifer only wanted to fake date you.” Roxas says with a soft sigh, sitting down and leaning back on his hands. Hayner pauses mid-drink, a realization coming in hard and fast.

“Hayner?” Olette asks softly, concern filtering through her voice when Hayner stays rigid for longer than normal. When he refuses to speak, she reaches only to gently push on his shoulder. “Hey, Hayner?” 

“He,” Hayner starts, lowering the bottle, voice higher than he would like, “He never actually said fake date.” 

Absolute silence.

“He what?” Roxas asks, deadpan. 

“I.. I was the one who asked if we were going to fake date.. To which he like, agreed. But he… He actually just like.. kinda went, “Go out with me.” Not “fake date me”.” 

The silence is almost deafening. 

“Hayner you complete fucking  _ idiot _ .” Olette says in probably the kindest way Hayner has ever heard someone call him an idiot. “You absolute  _ fool _ .” 

“Did Seifer actually ask me out?!” Hayner squeaks, turning to them, horrified. 

“What did he actually say to you when this whole thing started?” Roxas asks, looking to get the story finally straight.

“He said, “Go out with me.”” Hayner relays, realizing that this isn’t going to go well for him. “And when I asked why, cause like, why would Seifer ask me out, you know? He said that he needed someone to be his date to get work off his back and that’s when I said, “You want me to be your fake boyfriend” and he agreed.” 

This couldn’t be all Hayner’s fault for misunderstanding. Seifer  _ agreed _ after all. 

“So Seifer asked you out, and when you turned him down, he decided to just you fake dating?” Roxas asks. “Well, I guess that explains why he picked you. He likes you.”

“Seifer likes me?!” Hayner nearly shrieks. Olette rubs at her ears, annoyed. 

“I think we already established this with the whole he asked you out thing.” 

“What do I do now?!” 

“Uh, text him like, ‘Hey, I figured it out, let’s go out for real.’?” Pence offers, shrugging his shoulders in a ‘that works?’ way. 

Hayner contemplates this, pulling out his phone and a text message screen when Olette lunges for him. 

“Don’t just text him! You have to tell him in person!” 

“I don’t even know when he’ll be in town next!” Hayner whines at her, making several pathetic attempts to snatch his phone back. 

“Well! Then! Text him to tell him to let us know when he’ll be back!” 

“What? No! That’s weird, isn’t it? You do it!”

“It’d be weirder if I did it!”

“Then Pence!” 

“I think I’d be the weirdest of all.” 

“Guys… I got this.”

**local legend sent :** _hey seif u ever gonna be back up here this summer??_

**local legend sent : ** _ u gotta let us know k _

Hayner shoots Roxas a pointed look of  _ what are you doing?! _ that Roxas responds by lifting his index finger in a ‘just a second’ motion. 

**local legend sent :** _ i need to kno when the best time to steal ur beach spot is  _

Olette rolls her eyes but Hayner gives a sigh of relief. Surely that isn’t  _ too _ suspicious…? 

It takes Seifer a while to reply, likely catching up on work or with the Restoration Crew, and when he does reply it’s a simple:  _ I might be back. I’ll let you know.  _

Roxas shoots everyone an OK hand sign, that Pence returns, while Hayner groans and collapses back onto the floor. 

“I cannot believe my life is a stupid rom-com.” He huffs, kicking out one of his feet in his agitation. The rest of his group moves as well, each settling into different areas of their Usual Spot. From her spot on the couch, Olette leans forward, her hands holding onto the dusty fabric on either side of her and smiles softly. 

“Now we just have to hope your movie has a happy ending.” 

Hayner opens his eyes, and watching the familiar hue of his hometown sky begin to darken to a soft grey. An indication of the rain storm soon to be moving in. 

“Yeah. Guess we do.” 

— e p i l o g u e —

Hayner’s in the middle of biting into his first sea salt ice cream of the day when a familiar shadow darkens his view. A bright grin, that he tries and fails to suppress, lights up his face when he lifts a hand, shading his eyes to properly meet his visitor’s gaze. 

“Hey.” He greets Seifer, excitement buzzing under his skin. 

“Hey.” Seifer returns, hands tucked into his pockets as he tilts his head and takes in Hayner’s wrist. “Nice watch.”

It’s the one Seifer had bought for him. The one Hayner now refuses to go without. 

“Thanks,” he says with a cheeky grin, finally lowering his hand. “My boyfriend got it for me.” 

Hayner feels his heart stutter a bit, the weight of the statement not lost on him. It’s hard to see Seifer, but Hayner doesn’t miss the startled look that crosses over the other man’s face before he’s dousing it with something calmer. 

“Oh? And here I thought you were single.” 

Hayner’s leg begins to bounce lightly. Restless energy just dying to get out.

“Kind of?” He says, cocking his head to the side. “He likes to make things complicated.”

“Something tells me that’s more your fault than anything.”

Hayner hums, considering his words. 

“Maybe.”

There’s a brief stretch of quiet, where the ambient noises of Twilight Town filter in, but then Seifer’s raising a brow and opening his arms and Hayner’s all but tossing himself into them. 

“I still can’t believe you bought me a fucking watch.” He says as he winds his arms around Seifer’s neck. Seifer smirks back, his own arms circled around Hayner’s waist as he hoists him up. 

“You’re lucky I’m such a great boyfriend.” He grins, expression happier than Hayner think he’s ever seen it. 

“Yeah, whatever, Mr. Fake-Date-Me.” Hayner laughs, before taking a page out of Seifer’s book and smirking down at him. 

“You thought it was fake, don’t blame me.” As to be expected, Seifer refuses to take any of the blame, something Hayner’s already used to. After all, how many punishments had Seifer gotten out of when they were children by claiming Hayner had been to cause all the trouble? Too many to count. 

(Although, he had always stayed when he felt the punishment was too severe, Hayner only now understanding why he did so.)

“Well, you didn’t clear it up!” He still huffs back. His stubbornness was part of his charm. 

“Figured I should just take what I could get.”

There’s a melancholic look to Seifer that Hayner takes in as he gazes down at him. 

“Since when has Seifer Almasy ever taken less than exactly what he wanted?” He asks gently, earning him another soft grin. 

“Never.”

Hayner isn’t sure who leans in first, and for once, he really doesn’t care. The angle is kind of awkward, and their teeth knock together on their first attempt, which makes Hayner laugh and Seifer sigh, but before he can say anything, Hayner is pressing in and shutting down any complaint his boyfriend might have. 

Seifer’s oddly soft and pliant beneath him, his arms tightening at his waist so their chests are pushed together and Hayner can feel the inhale Seifer gives when Hayner gives one his lips a small nip. Hayner’s sure he tastes like sea salt ice cream, but with the way his heart is nearly beating out of his chest and the dazed look Seifer’s giving him when they pull back, he finds he really doesn’t care. 

“Took you long enough.” Hayner says eventually, feeling a sudden need to be a pain in the ass. He gets an exaggerated eye roll for his efforts. 

“Don’t start with me, Chickenwuss. You’re the idiot here.”

Hayner supposes that’s fair enough. 

“Can I tell my group?” He asks with a smug grin, already knowing the answer. Seifer lets out a low laugh, his expression is fond when he replies.

“Am I stuck in that group chat forever now?”

“Basically.” 

Seifer puts Hayner down after another quick peck, that still sends the butterflies flying in Hayner’s stomach, giving Hayner the ability to dig out his phone and shoot off a quick  _ Seifer and I figured it out lol _ which earns his an eyebrow raise from Seifer, having missed all the other conversations. There’s a small amount of fanfare, his group understanding his vague message, save for a couple crying emojis from Pence, having lost another bet against Olette. 

At Seifer’s suspicious and confused look, Hayner shrugs. 

“You get used to it.” He says dismissively, looking back down to his phone when it buzzes once more. 

**local cryptid sent :** _since hay and seif are ACTUALLY dating NOW can i b the one who threatened seifer??????? _

Hayner motions to Seifer to grab his own phone with a head nod, and while his boyfriend does listen, he makes sure to make a show of it. Hayner can see the amusement in his eyes when he takes in the messages and as he types out a quick reply. 

**cop man take me by the ha sent :** _No._

**local cryptid sent :** _WHY NOT_

**cop man take me by the ha sent :** _Olette beat you to it._

**local gambler sent :** _^___^ _Hayner reads this and feels his own jaw drop, shouting at the same time Roxas’s text comes in. 

**local cryptid sent :** _WHEN?! _

**local gambler sent :** _The first day. _

**local gambler sent :** _When Seifer asked Hayner to “fake” date him._

**local cryptid sent :** _but… but we didnt know then….._

**local gambler sent :** _You didn’t._

**local gambler sent :** _I had my suspicions. _

**local gambler sent :** _Sorry, Roxas!_

**local cryptid sent :** _ fine _

**local cryptid sent :** _ BUT I GET TO THREATEN WHOEVER DATES LETTIE _

**local gambler sent :** _uh_

**local cryptid sent :** _ NO _

**local gambler sent : ** _ Seifer beat you to it. _

**local cryptid sent :** _ ARE YOU _

**local cryptid sent :** _ NO _

**local cryptid sent :** _ WHAT?! _

**local cryptid sent :** _ i hate this family _

**local ghost hunter sent :** _welcome to the fam, seifer! _

**local ghost hunter sent :** _I hope you enjoy your stay. _

Another chuckle sounds out of Seifer as he turns to Hayner with a soft smile that Hayner’s growing more and more fond of. With a grin of his own, Hayner reaches forward and intertwines their fingers. 

“Hope you’re excited to be stuck with me for the rest of your life.” 

Seifer leans down to knock their foreheads together and it’s almost sappy enough to have Hayner make fun of him for it. 

“I can’t wait.”  _ _

_ — _ b o n u s — _ _

Hayner and Seifer are on their way to the bistro, Hayner explaining he didn’t have work but they had probably the best lunch in town, when he feels his phone buzz and they both look down to read the message. 

**local cryptid sent :** _wait does this mean we should change seifs name to “local hayner hunter” ?????? _

Hayner tries and fails to bite back the laugh that bubbles up at that particular message, laughing even louder at the cold smile that curls his boyfriend’s mouth. 

**cop man take me by the ha sent :** _I’m breaking up with all of you. _

**local cryptid sent : ** _ bruh  _

**local ghost hunter sent : ** _ I didn’t do anything! _

**local gambler sent : ** _ Seifer! _

**cop man take me by the ha sent : ** _ Everyone but Roxas can stay. _

**local cryptid sent : ** _ BRUH  _

**local ghost hunter sent : ** _ nice!! _

**local gambler sent : ** _ We’ll miss you Roxas!  _

**local cryptid sent : ** _ I REFUSE TO BE REPLACED BY SEIFER ALMASY  _

**cop man take me by the ha sent : ** _ Tough shit.  _

**local cryptid sent : ** _ HAYNER!!!  _

Unfortunately for Roxas, Hayner is too busy hiding his face in his boyfriend’s arm and silently laughing, unable to produce any other sound, much less reprimand his boyfriend. 

  
**local fool sent : ** ✌️

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> weeeeeee DID IT   
after a reread I actually really enjoyed this chapter asdfgfd   
and, as per usual, the group chats were my fav ;v;   
thanks so much for all your comments and kudos and everything!!! they mean the world to me ;v; <3 
> 
> see you next time!!!!   
(if you want, I'm on twitter at @EIJIANKH_ I don't yell abt seiner a whole bunch but, ya know.)


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